9:55 am: I'll just add this here. This is the first line of the "official" Islanders press release regarding Rick DiPietro's surgery:
The New York Islanders announced today that Rick DiPietro will undergo surgery to repair a sports hernia. The procedure will sideline the Islanders goaltender for 10 weeks.
DiPietro, 30, has been sidelined since December 3, first with a groin strain and then with what is classified as a sports hernia and knee swelling. The Winthrop, MA, native has appeared in eight games this season, posting a 3-2-3 record.
Ten weeks. But what concerns me here in this official release is the mention of additional knee swelling. While RDP told Art Staple he has no intentions of calling it quits, I think his body feels otherwise. At least we know there are only two goalies for the next ten weeks and I highly doubt now that Evgeni Nabokov will be traded at the deadline. Because that would be stupid.
Wait... anything is possible.
Isles vs Sabres tonight at 7 pm. We'll talk about that later. This should be enough to blow up the web for a few hours.
5:19 pm: The news that Art Staple mentioned would be coming finally has. Rick diPietro will have surgery on Tuesday for a sports hernia. It is his sixth surgery since 2008. This one will keep him out the balance of the season, while an optimistic view is April. Um... no.
I was wondering why he wasn't around last night. Now I know.
3:49 pm: Just finished watching On The Spot with Matt Martin on iTV. Great job by Chris King and a very relaxed Matt Martin. So glad I did this entry today!
The 22-year-old Ontario native is in his second full-time season with the NY Islanders. He is also in the second season of leading the NHL in hits. Before last night’s game against the Flyers, the game notes read:
Heavy Hitter: Matt Martin leads the NHL with 174 hits - 19 more than the league's next top hitter, Cal Clutterbuck.
He added eight more last night, three in one shift. He is noticeable and not just for his “sic flow.” When Martin is out on the ice, you notice. Everyone notices.
Last night I had a chance to talk to him about his “leadership” in this area.
I asked him if he knew how many hits he threw in one particular shift and he gave me that crooked smile of his. “No. I probably don’t.” But then he gave some serious thought to his game. “I don’t think I had too many in the game before that. I just figured I hadn’t made an impact on the game yet so I just figured it was time to get my crap together and go and do something. I tried to make an impact any way I could.”
Along with Martin, rookie Nino Niederreiter has shown some physical presence. And why not, the 19-year-old is 6’2” and 205 lbs. He was credited with three hits last night. I asked Matt if he was tutoring Nino in hitting and he chuckled, but Nino has always been a physical player.
“He’s a pretty big kid. He’s going to need to utilize his body to make room for himself.” And then the smile came back -- a little. “It’s kind of nice to have another guy out there that likes to bang around. The more guys we have hitting and throwing the body around the better off we’ll be. You see some of the best teams in the league -- the Boston’s and the Philly’s -- they all play the body, they all play physical and try to intimidate you out there. I think it’s an important part of the game.”
“You still lead the league in hits.” which was a redundant statement on my part. “Yeah, I do. And hopefully I continue to lead the league throughout the rest of the year.”
In a recent interview, Martin credited his father with telling him he needed to play a more physical game in order to make it in hockey. Maybe Dad didn’t have being THIS physical in mind. Maybe he did.
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