The plan for franchise goaltender Rick DiPietro’s first game back from hip and knee surgery is for him to start Monday in Florida and go the distance. He will not play at home in Boston on Saturday because the morning skate on Friday will be the first time DiPietro has faced pucks since his final game last season on March 15 at Montreal.
DiPietro will have a full practice Sunday in Fort Lauderdale plus the morning skate on Monday to prepare. “We’ll gauge the game on Monday,” Isles coach Scott Gordon said. “If he’s getting a lot of action, maybe he only plays two periods. The plan is for him to play three. We don’t want to put him in a situation where he overextends himself. So, we’ll just gauge it on how the game goes.”
The reason DiPietro waited this long before taking part in a full practice was determined by the club’s medical team, which kept him out of live action a full four months after he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in June. “A lot of injuries are just waiting for the right time where you increase the percentages in your favor as far as not reinjuring yourself,” Gordon said. “And tomorrow is that deadline. Now we put ourselves in a situation where his chances of reinjuring himself are pretty slim.”
Gordon also acknowledged forward Sean Bergenheim will return to action against New Jersey Friday night at the Prudential Center, and recently acquired defenseman Thomas Pock will make his Islanders debut.
The new coach made his remarks following the afternoon news conference to announce the signing of first-round draft pick Josh Bailey to an entry-level NHL contract. Although Bailey has played just one exhibition game and will not be on the ice against the Devils, Gordon indicated it’s still possible Bailey might return in time to play Saturday in Boston or Monday in Florida. Even if he doesn’t, it’s not out of the question that Bailey could begin the regular season on the NHL roster. For the full story, please read Friday’s edition of Newsday.
Comments (5)
Any idea who will be starting in goal tomorrow? I'd assume MacDonald, but would like to see Danis again...
And he will stop them with his teeth, spit them back out Grampy McSame and kill him thereby ending what we know will happen anyway. Obama will be President!
Well, Palin will destroy the pucks with her shotgun from the helicopter, thank God for giving her the power to do so, and try to name another Supreme Court Case other than Roe. v. Wade.
How long will it possibly take for DiPietro to get back into game shape? It seems MacDonald will be playing a good number of games before DiPi can resume his spot.
As for Bailey, what's the consensus on him so far? Only 1 game and yet he's injured as a #1 draft pick?
How about we all take the time to flood the Isles with emails telling them to knock off this ridiculous policy of hiding injuries from the press and public.
The people who buy the tickets and the fans in general have the right to know who's going to be in lineup on any particular night.
Snow is being a jerk by with holding this info like it was some state secret.
Sens and email to the Isles and another to the NHL office and tell them to grow up and get rid of this stupid policy....Sir William
Did I read something in Newsday over the last few days that Bailey is projected to be a #2, heart-and-soul center, but was drafted to fill a void at center and to be a playmaking pivot for Okposo?
So, does that pretty much mean the Isles don't see Okposo as a 1st liner either? In other words, we have prospects that could form 2/3 of a solid 2nd line waiting in the wings, but still no 1st line prospects?