Archive for the 'Rick DiPietro' Category
Yesterday, the Western All-Stars were revealed for the 2008 All Star Game in Atlanta. Today the Eastern All-Stars were announced, including Islanders goalie/savior Rick DiPietro.
DiPietro becomes the first Islanders goaltender to make the All-Star Game since Billy Smith in 1978.
After elected starter Martin Brodeur goes first for the Eastern Conference on Jan. 27 in Atlanta, Rick will handle either the second or third period. He will also be a big part of the revamped Skills Competition on Saturday.
Last year’s Islander All-Star and now Toronto’s $20 million dollar man, Jason Blake did not make the All-Star roster this year.
Another day in the NHL and another multi-year, multi-million dollar contract being signed. The Washington Capitals locked up super-stud Alexander Ovechkin to a 13-year $124 million dollar contract yesterday.
Crazy. Insane. Asinine. All these words were thrown around last year when Islanders owner Charles Wang signed Rick DiPietro to a 15-year deal. Here’s another word for you…trend! Philadelphia signed Mike Richards to a 12-year deal just a couple of weeks ago, now Ovie, who’s next? Sid the Kid is already locked up for another 4 seasons, but surely we haven’t seen the last mega-deal of this new NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Ovie gets $9 million a year for the first 6, and $10 million a year for the last 4. That buys a lot of Crocs, or even some real ^$@%! shoes.
In addition the awesome graphic above that I borrowed, our friends at FauxRumors had a nice write about Wang and Ovie’s deal. FAUXRUMORS: Wang: Visionary or Nut? Great title.
1) When it was announced late yesterday that the Washington Capitals have extended the contract for their super star left wing Alex Ovechkin to an unprecedented 13 years we couldn’t help but wonder if Mr. Wang was quietly chuckling to himself. After all, until this year such contracts were unheard of in non-Islander quarters.
2) You may recall that earlier this season the Flyers extended the contract for forward Mike Richards for 12 additional seasons. Is there a trend developing here? Did the NY Islanders/Wang know something that others didn’t last year when they signed Rick DiPietro to a 15 year deal? As we wrote after the Richards deal, many fewer folks derided the Flyers for that contract like the hockey media did when the Isles gave Ricky his. Now, only 16 months later Charles Wang is looking more like a visionary and less like a Kook (at least on this issue)
They have 4 more points to make…check out the whole article.
After 45 shots and 7 powerplays, it’s a miracle the Islanders even got a point last night in Vancouver. With the exception of DP, the team did not look a whole lot better than they did the previous night during their shutout loss to Edmonton. Fortunately, DP played amazing last night and the Isles were able to get a point out of red-hot Vancouver who is 12-0-2 in their last 14 home games.
During a 19-shot first period barrage, Marcus Naslund netted one about midway through the period for the 1-0 Vancouver lead. Captain Bill Guerin tied it up in the second with a little help from video review to confirm. Shots were 31-16 in favor of Vancouver after 2 periods, thanks in part to 6 Canuck powerplays.
The teams traded gift goals in the third - Canuck goalie (and ex-Islander) Roberto Luongo mishandled the puck behind the net and Blake Comeau darted in to bang it home for the 2-1 Islanders lead. Just about a minute and a half later the Canucks tied it up though on a slot snap shot by Daniel Sedin that DP was noticeably upset at himself for letting in.
That was the end of the scoring, until the shootout, where (ex-Islander) Trevor Linden scored in the 3rd round to give Vancouver the 1-0 edge. Miroslav Satan was the Isles’ last chance and he came through with a nifty move to beat Luongo and tie things up again. I was all confused at this point because A) it was 12:30am and B) it looked like Luongo made the save at first. Defenseman Alexander Elder scored for the Canucks in round 6, followed by Luongo stopping Trent Hunter for the 3-2 Vancouver shootout win.
One thing that bothered me about the shootout was the Islanders not getting Luongo to move around too much. Everyone just came right down the middle at him, made a quick deke or fake, and then shot. Satan was the only one to get Luongo to move one way, and the scored the other way.
Coach Nolan shuffled lines all night long, looking for some offense spark. That plan backfired as there was no spark, and not a lot of defense either last night.
Nolan responded by throwing out at least five new lines in the third period to generate an offensive spark.
Coming off a 4-0 shutout loss the previous night in Edmonton in which Nolan benched Ruslan Fedotenko in the third period and played Vasicek and Miroslav Satan sparingly, changes were assured. Nolan put that trio together on a sort of “Doghouse Line” and used them as the fourth line.
Comeau jumped into Fedotenko’s spot with Mike Sillinger and Trent Hunter, and Sean Bergenheim joined Andy Hilbert and Tim Jackman as the third line. Only the top line of Richard Park, Mike Comrie and Bill Guerin remained intact.
The Isles’ roadtrip continues Friday night in Calgary, and then concludes Sunday night in Ottawa.
…and just like that, the story is over.
I can confirm the pads have been cleared. They are being returned to Rick in Colorado and he will not be suspended,” Islanders spokesman Chris Botta said in an e-mail Friday. “I don’t know if he’ll get the pads in time for Saturday’s game or if he will be wearing them.
So Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro returned to the crease last night after missing 3 games with a knee injury, in a tough 4-3 Islander OT loss. I missed the game because my men’s league team was busy getting shellacked 6-0. Just a bad, bad night on the ice in Long Island.
The big story of the night was DP’s new goalie pads though. After the game, that’s all the press wanted to talk about. Apparently, Rick and the Islanders thought they had league approval on them but the NHL called the Isles after the first period and made him switch back to his older pads. There’s a lot of “he said”, “she said” going on, but the bottom line is DP faces a possible 2-game suspension for wearing white after Labor Day illegal equipment.
All of this could have been avoided if the NHL would just read Isles’ PR Corey Witt’s blog everyday. Corey tipped us off to the new pads early Thursday afternoon, so he knew, I knew, a bunch of you readers knew, but nobody told Lord Bettman. “Throw me a frickin’ bone here. I’m the boss…need the info” Bettman reportedly said after the game.
Highlights below, and we’ll update you on DP’s status for the Isles 5-game road trip as soon as we find out anything.
Hey everyone, Happy New Year! Welcome to 2008! The year the Cup returns to Hempstead Turnpike??
I am back from 5 days of being buried in the Vermont snow (18+ inches!!) with no internet access whatsoever. I’ll admit, I tried to get online with my laptop and cell phone but it was just too slow to be usable. Props to Tommy for minding the fort while I made drunken snow angels and ran my own liver into the boards from behind.
5-2? 4-1? Who are these guys and what did you do with my New York Islanders while I was gone? Those scores were a pleasant surprise.
I caught the first period of the Winter Classic on Tuesday before possession of the remote control was vetoed out of my hands by the rest of my skihouse. It looked like a ton of fun - for the fans and the players. I’m ready to start camping out for tickets to Isles/Rangers at Yankee Stadium next New Year…NOW!!
Anyways, here’s the news this morning. Corey Witt, NYI Media Relations Coordinator lets us know that DP practiced this morning and is ready to return to action tonight vs. Florida.
Here’s the round-up from today’s morning skate at the Coliseum…
The probable match-up in goal tonight is Rick DiPietro for the Islanders and Craig Anderson for the Panthers. Anderson was one of two Panthers to skate this morning and it didn’t look like it was because the other skater needed someone to shoot at.
DiPietro is thinking about wearing a new set of pads tonight. He’s been testing out a new prototype from I-Tech, which are pre-curved/broken in. Since they’re a prototype, they are all white.
Hmmm….coincidence or conspiracy? Was DP really hurt or was he just on a five day bender with Murph in Vermont?? Don’t worry DP, your secret is safe with me.
The Islanders will be skating down in Carolina tonight against the Southeast Division leading Hurricanes. The last time these teams squared off, Carolina pummeled the Isles 8-3.
The ‘Canes have lost three of their last five games, falling to Columbus 4-1 on Saturday. Carolina should still be without Matt Cullen, who was crushed by Ranger Colton Orr on an open-ice hit on Wednesday. I was at that game. My sister was born and raised a Rangers fan. I know, I know. We’ve talked. Anyway, like I said I was at that game and Cullen was just leveled. Happened so fast. One second he was skating and the next he was down, not moving a muscle. He was on the ice for a couple of minutes before he skated off with a lot of help. There was a pool of blood where his head had been. Thankfully, he is expected to be all right.
Cullen is a big part of the Carolina offense. They are already without Justin Williams, who hurt his knee earlier this month. The two players rank third and sixth on the team in points, respectively.
The Isles willl again be without Rick DiPietro. The goalie should be back for the Isles first game in 2008. Dubie will get the start again. Dubie’s 3-3 with a 3.85 GAA and a .878 save percentage in seven games this season.
“We’re going to stick with our plan initially on Ricky and make sure he’s 100 percent. Right now, he’s about 95, 98 percent,” Coach Ted Nolan told Newsday. “He’s ready to go, but we know the importance of Ricky to this hockey team.”
New Years Eve road games are always tough. Players often lose focus and just want to get back home to their families and friends. Hopefully, the Isles will make the trip worthwhile and take advantage of a Carolina team that isn’t playing its best hockey right now. This is a very winnable game for the OrangeAndBlue, but they’ll have to earn it.
Happy New Year everyone! Have fun celebrating tonight and be safe. Murph, that counts for you double.
NewYorkIslanders.com updates us on DP’s status - day to day, possible Saturday return. Also lost in last night’s shuffle was that Radek Martinek was scratched with a leg bruise, also day to day.
The Islanders announced today that goaltender Rick DiPietro and defenseman Radek Martinek are out day-to-day with injuries.
DiPietro is out with a knee sprain suffered last night in warmups before the Islanders’ 4-3 overtime victory over Toronto. DiPietro played the first period before leaving the game. DiPietro could return when the Islanders host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday at 7:05 pm at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Martinek suffered a leg bruise during the Islanders’ 3-2 overtime victory over Washington on Saturday. He is also listed as day-to-day.
Goaltender Joey MacDonald has been recalled from Bridgeport (AHL) to back up Wade Dubielewicz for tonight’s game in Ottawa.
Wow. What a crazy game last night, lots of good and bad to talk about. Fan-Favorite (for the most part) Jason Blake returned to Long Island for the first time after signing a free-agent deal with Toronto last summer. Blake was a “love him or hate him” Islander - you either loved his speed and hustle, or you hated his tendency to hog the puck and occasional turnovers that came with it. We here at Islanders Army were strongly in the “love him” category, as evidenced by our top secret plan to clone Blake and dominate the NHL with five 40-goal scorers on the ice at once.
It was all business and $$$ that led to Blake leaving. He wanted a longer deal than what the Isles were offering and after a career year with 40 goals, he found someone else willing to give it to him. The Toronto Maple Leafs opened the checkbook for a 40-goal scorer for 5 years, and so far have 5 goals and 16 assists to show for it. The Isles showed their appreciation for the 6 years Blake played for us with a short pre-game video tribute.
I missed the first two periods and the Islanders “offensive explosion” of 3 goals in the first. Considering the difficulty the lsles have had scoring 3 goals in 60 minutes, 3 in the first 20 was quite the feat. The excitement of those goals quickly wore off at the start of the second period when Wade Dubielewicz came out of the tunnel and into the net in place of Rick DiPietro who apparently hurt his knee in warmups and wasn’t able to finish the game. DP is getting an MRI on the knee and will miss tonight’s game at Ottawa. Joey MacDonald has been called up from Bridgeport to backup Doobie. With Doobie in net, the game took a more defensive tone - 14 Islanders first period shots turned into just 4 second period shots. Still the Isles held a 3-2 lead after 2 periods.
An early 3rd period Islander powerplay backfired into a shorthanded goal and a 3-3 tie. It stayed that way through regulation thanks to the heroics of Doobie, Toronto goalie Andrew Raycroft and some goalposts. Both teams had some great chances down the stretch, including Mike Sillinger getting stoned on the doorstep twice by Raycroft with less than a minute left in regulation.
Richard Park got called for hooking in OT and it looked like the Isles were doomed on the 4-on-3 powerplay. Doooooobie to the rescue with some awesome saves and it looked like we were headed to a shootout, until this….
Richard Park (aka The “New” Jason Blake) pick-pocketed the “Old” Jason Blake at the Isles blueline and turned it into a 2-on-1 because of a Toronto line change. Park’s shot was deflected by the defenseman, stopped by Raycroft, but then a uncovered Mike Comrie came along and banged in the rebound with just 10 seconds left in OT for the 4-3 Islander win. Tic-Tac-Toe, three in a row for the Orange and Blue.
Blake’s miscue is sure to send Leafs Nation into a frenzy. After the game Blake defended his actions, while his coach wasn’t buying it.
“We’ve only got so many seconds left in overtime,” he said of his extended bout of stick-handling. “I was trying to make a play. [Park] made a great play by poke-checking it.”
Blake’s coach, Paul Maurice, was not impressed.
“He turned the puck over an awful lot tonight,” Maurice said. “You can’t turn it over there at any point in a game.”
Sorry Blakey…it was all just business last night.
All right, that didn’t actually happen. DP is happy with his $67 million-dollar deal. You have to wonder what the Flyers are thinking by giving a 22-year-old forward a 12-year deal reportedly worth $69 million. Don’t get me wrong, Mike Richards is a good player with tons of potential. But 12 years? Really?
Rick DiPietro signed an historic 15-year, $67 million-dollar contract with the Islanders last season. I think the length of both pacts is kind of crazy but I think the Richards’ deal is the crazier of the two. I’d just rather commit to a goalie than a forward. That simple. Obviously, it will be a long time before we find out if either of these contracts work out for the clubs.
Good luck to Mike Richards. Seems like a good guy. Just don’t put too many pucks past DP over the next decade or so.
Isles Down Coyotes
Missed last night’s game. Another holiday party. It’s a great time of year to live in New York, man, but I am looking forward to a quiet night tonight. Putting the beers on hold until the Jets big upset of the Patriots on Sunday. Calling a 19-17 Jets victory, compliments of Mike Nugent and a slew of turnovers in the bad weather. I can dream.
Glad to see the Isles did the job and put the Coyotes down. That was really a game they had no business losing. You have to beat a struggling Western Conference team on your own ice. Good to see Billy Guerin lighting the lamp again. Now the Isles just need to string a few of these together.
Murph’s Take: Where’s the outrage? The shock? The name calling of Flyers’ GM Paul Holmgren? Did Isles’ owner Charles Wang send the Flyers’ owners (Comcast) some “special” holiday egg-nog? People do seem a little surprised by this move, but there is very little of the “this deal is bad for the NHL” sentiment that arose after the DP deal. Is it because the deal isn’t quite as long as DP’s, or is it just because Charles “Crazy Like a Fox” Wang isn’t involved?
Mirtle has a good write up about the deal, looking at the general trend of longer deals in the NHL, and the risks that come with them.
As for last night, a much better effort and a well needed win. The powerplay continues to be Jekyll and Hyde - the Notorious M.A.B gives us a 2-0 lead with a PP goal in the third, and the next PP opportunity results in 0 shots for and a shorthanded goal for Phoenix to negate the insurance goal.
Sorry Wayne, I know losing at the Coliseum probably brings back all sorts of bad memories. *cough*1983*cough*
