When defenseman Radek Martinek?s elbow inadvertently connected to the side of teammate Rick DiPietro?s head with about eight minutes left to play Saturday night against Boston, it was almost as though the Islanders? goaltender had been hit with a sucker punch. He never saw it coming, and it was obvious when DiPietro wobbled for a moment in front of his net that he was woozy momentarily.
But DiPietro shook it off and hung tough to the end of a 2-1 win that marked the Isles? eighth straight game scoring two goals or less. The fact that they are 4-4 in those games is a testament to how strong DiPietro has been in net this season, and he?s prepared to make his 10th straight start against Dallas tonight at the Coliseum. It also will mark his 19th start in 21 games this season, and he?s showing no signs of backing off that pace.
Coach Ted Nolan was in a jovial mood at this morning?s pregame skate when asked if DiPietro had been checked out on the team?s day off Sunday. ?We double-checked and triple-checked,? Nolan said. ?Doctors talked to Ricky, and our medical staff talked to Ricky. We did everything humanly possible to make sure there?s nothing there. He woke up yesterday feeling good, had a nice day off and came here today feeling good. There?s no concern whatsoever.?
The Stars began a five-game trip through the Atlantic Division with a win over the Rangers yesterday that was their fifth straight, and they are 7-1-2 in their past 10 games. So, this should be another in a string of tough, tense games for DiPietro, who seems likely to start against both Ottawa and the Rangers on Wednesday and Thursday. That would mean playing five games in seven days, including last week?s back-to-back against Boston.
It?s a demanding schedule with no apparent openings for backup goaltender Wade Dubielewicz. ?We had a good discussion on the ice here today about certain games where we can spot him and put Dubielewicz in,? Nolan said of his talk with DiPietro. ?But he?s still raring to go. He?s a special kid. He wants to play, and he?s capable of playing those type of games.
?Last game, he faced two shots in the first period. His style of play this year is really helpful. He?s not going behind the net and playing the puck as much; he?s not chasing the puck to the corner or skating it up to the blue line. He?s much more controlled, and I think he?s conserving his energy and using his hockey ability much more.?
Looking back on last season, DiPietro faced a much heavier workload when you consider the Islanders yielded an average of 32.6 shots on goal per game to rank 26th in the NHL. This season, that figure has dropped dramatically to 26.4 shots per game to rank as the fourth-lowest average in the league.
?We know the type of goaltender we have,? Nolan said, explaining how the Isles began training camp with a plan to emphasize defense and rely on DiPietro. ?Ricky can keep us in a lot of games and win us a lot of games as long as we do our part defensively. We keyed on that early. We got guys like Brendan Witt and Andy Sutton, and Chris Campoli and Bruno Gervais are coming on and Radek Martinek is doing well. We have defensive type of defensemen, and our forwards are doing their part.?
DiPietro, Nolan said, also has helped limit opponents' shots by making better decisions when he plays the puck, resulting in fewer giveaways.
Marveling recently at DiPietro?s appetite for work, Dubielewicz laughed and said, ?The guy?s a machine.?
Of course, Dubielewicz is the one in danger of accumulating rust, which hurt backup Mike Dunham last season when he came off the bench after 41 days without action before DiPietro suffered his first concussion. Asked if he must consider sending Dubielewicz to Bridgeport for a conditioning assignment, Nolan said, ?There?s got to be some discussion of that very shortly.?
--newsday
But DiPietro shook it off and hung tough to the end of a 2-1 win that marked the Isles? eighth straight game scoring two goals or less. The fact that they are 4-4 in those games is a testament to how strong DiPietro has been in net this season, and he?s prepared to make his 10th straight start against Dallas tonight at the Coliseum. It also will mark his 19th start in 21 games this season, and he?s showing no signs of backing off that pace.
Coach Ted Nolan was in a jovial mood at this morning?s pregame skate when asked if DiPietro had been checked out on the team?s day off Sunday. ?We double-checked and triple-checked,? Nolan said. ?Doctors talked to Ricky, and our medical staff talked to Ricky. We did everything humanly possible to make sure there?s nothing there. He woke up yesterday feeling good, had a nice day off and came here today feeling good. There?s no concern whatsoever.?
The Stars began a five-game trip through the Atlantic Division with a win over the Rangers yesterday that was their fifth straight, and they are 7-1-2 in their past 10 games. So, this should be another in a string of tough, tense games for DiPietro, who seems likely to start against both Ottawa and the Rangers on Wednesday and Thursday. That would mean playing five games in seven days, including last week?s back-to-back against Boston.
It?s a demanding schedule with no apparent openings for backup goaltender Wade Dubielewicz. ?We had a good discussion on the ice here today about certain games where we can spot him and put Dubielewicz in,? Nolan said of his talk with DiPietro. ?But he?s still raring to go. He?s a special kid. He wants to play, and he?s capable of playing those type of games.
?Last game, he faced two shots in the first period. His style of play this year is really helpful. He?s not going behind the net and playing the puck as much; he?s not chasing the puck to the corner or skating it up to the blue line. He?s much more controlled, and I think he?s conserving his energy and using his hockey ability much more.?
Looking back on last season, DiPietro faced a much heavier workload when you consider the Islanders yielded an average of 32.6 shots on goal per game to rank 26th in the NHL. This season, that figure has dropped dramatically to 26.4 shots per game to rank as the fourth-lowest average in the league.
?We know the type of goaltender we have,? Nolan said, explaining how the Isles began training camp with a plan to emphasize defense and rely on DiPietro. ?Ricky can keep us in a lot of games and win us a lot of games as long as we do our part defensively. We keyed on that early. We got guys like Brendan Witt and Andy Sutton, and Chris Campoli and Bruno Gervais are coming on and Radek Martinek is doing well. We have defensive type of defensemen, and our forwards are doing their part.?
DiPietro, Nolan said, also has helped limit opponents' shots by making better decisions when he plays the puck, resulting in fewer giveaways.
Marveling recently at DiPietro?s appetite for work, Dubielewicz laughed and said, ?The guy?s a machine.?
Of course, Dubielewicz is the one in danger of accumulating rust, which hurt backup Mike Dunham last season when he came off the bench after 41 days without action before DiPietro suffered his first concussion. Asked if he must consider sending Dubielewicz to Bridgeport for a conditioning assignment, Nolan said, ?There?s got to be some discussion of that very shortly.?
--newsday
