On the Islanders Beat

Swelling in Rick DiPietro's surgically repaired knee prompted the Islanders to cancel his expected start tonight in Calgary, coach Scott Gordon explained after the pre-game skate today at the Pengrowth Saddledome. When DiPietro returns to Long Island with the team after tonight's game, his condition will be "reevaluated."

Gordon stressed at several points that DiPietro remains medically cleared to play. He started last Friday in Phoenix and then backed up Joey MacDonald Saturday in San Jose and Monday in Edmonton. DiPietro underwent a full practice yesterday in Calgary and tested new catching gloves as if planning to start against the Flames, and he said he would start if he felt as good today as he did following Wednesday's practice.

But that changed after DiPietro spoke to Newsday. Bridgeport goaltender Yann Danis was notified immediately after playing in a 4-3 shootout win by the Sound Tigers last night that he was needed in Calgary to serve as MacDonald's backup. He left his Milford, Ct. home at 4:45 ET this morning to catch a direct flight from JFK to Calgary, arriving at the Saddledome while the Islanders were on the ice.

Addressing DiPietro's situation after the skate, Gordon said, "From a medical standpoint, he's cleared to play. With the [knee] surgery that he's had, he's expected to have some swelling. That's been normal. We've been very cautious about how he's going to respond. As you saw yesterday, he practiced. He looked pretty good, and he could play tonight. But we just feel that it's in his best interests to give him the night off and make sure that everything is going the way it's supposed to go. If anything, just err on the side of caution."

Asked if he has any idea how long the uncertainty surrounding DiPietro's availability will go on, Gordon said, "No, like I said, he could have played all three games [so far on the road trip]. That's why he's been here and we haven't done anything else.

"But it hasn't made the progress that was to be expected, so, rather than just throw him in there, knowing that he's medically cleared to play, we just figured we'll hold off and get him back to New York and reevaluate and go from there."

Last June 4, DiPietro underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. "The doctors suggested it was the right thing to do, and they said there would be plenty of time to rehab it before training camp," DiPietro said in an exclusive interview with Newsday yesterday afternoon. "It didn't work out that way. We've had a couple of setbacks."

DiPietro only played in the final exhibition game, and then he backed up MacDonald for the first four games of the regular season before making his first start. In his third start, DiPietro left an Oct. 25 game against Carolina with an undisclosed injury. On Nov. 1, the club announced DiPietro underwent arthroscopic knee surgery to repair a meniscus injury.

Eight weeks later, DiPietro returned to start in a 4-1 win over Toronto on Dec. 26. But after that game, he was said to have a strained groin that prevented him from starting again until last Friday in Phoenix. Now, it's his surgically repaired knee that isn't cooperating once again.

DiPietro said he plans to stick with the training program the doctors have put him on in the hope of coming back and helping the Islanders climb out of the NHL basement. Asked if he ever has considered sitting out the entire season, DiPietro said, "I'm not even thinking about that."

Describing his more cautious approach in returning from his second knee surgery, DiPietro said, "It will be good to get back as quickly as possible. At the same time, I'm not going to jeopardize the rest of the season [by rushing]."

The Islanders have recalled backup goaltender Yann Danis from Bridgeport on an emergency basis today because Rick DiPietro is unable to start as he was expected to do tonight in Calgary. Joey MacDonald will make his third straight start on this trip against the Flames at Pengrowth Saddledome.

At the end of an interview with Newsday last night, DiPietro said that, if he felt as good today as he did after yesterday's practice, he would start. Something has changed since then. Coach Scott Gordon is expected to address the issue and provide some details to explain DiPietro's situation after the pre-game skate today.

Back with more later.

At the end of the Islanders' practice session Wednesday afternoon in Calgary, coach Scott Gordon gathered his team around for the usual talk that signifies the end of the organized portion of practice before the players splinter off to work on their shots or head to the locker room. Toward the end of Gordon's talk, there was a telling scene.

The coach had a big smile on his face, and suddenly, the Islanders were mobbing defenseman Mark Streit. They jumped on his back, tapped him on the helmet and hugged him for the next couple of minutes.

It didn't take a brain surgeon or even a sports writer to figure it out. The NHL had informed the Islanders that Streit would be on the list of Eastern Conference All-Star reserves scheduled for release at noon today. According to the ever-reliable Elias Sports Bureau, Streit is the first Swiss national to receive such an honor. The 31-year-old defenseman was born in Englisberg, Switzerland, and he splits time between there and Bern in the offseason.

Going into tonight's game against the Flames, Streit is tied with San Jose's Dan Boyle for the NHL lead in scoring by a defenseman with 32 points. San Jose, of course, is the best team in the Western Conference while the Islanders have the worst record in the NHL. That says something about how well Streit has played.

Just last season, Streit wasn't considered solid enough on defense to have a full-time role by Montreal coach Guy Carbonneau, who used him primarily on the power play, as the seventh defenseman and often played him at forward. Now, Streit, who signed a five-year contract worth $20.5 million with the Islanders, leads his team in average ice time with more than 25 minutes per game, and he plays in all phases, including penalty kill.

"He's solidified his position in back," Islanders coach Scott Gordon said. "I don't think he'll ever play another game at forward."

Best of all, the All-Star Game will be played Jan. 25 in Montreal. The Canadiens used to have the best power play in the league, but they're ranked 27th now after allowing Streit and Edmonton's Sheldon Souray to leave as free agents the past two seasons. Both will be representing their teams as All-Stars, which sounds like a slam-dunk story line for the Montreal media.

FYI: The NHL does not mandate that each team receive an All-Star, although they attempt to include as many teams as possible. No Islander was named to the All-Star team in 2006 or 2001, the last two times they were omitted. Streit earned it.

From a media perspective, trying to determine the Islanders' starting goaltender by watching the pre-game skate has been a confusing task. On several occasions when he was deemed healthy enough to play, Rick DiPietro has left the ice first, which is the usual tipoff that he's the starter.

But as happened Monday in Edmonton, it was backup Joey MacDonald who started the game after finishing the pre-game skate as the goaltender taking shots from the remaining players on the ice. DiPietro, who returned from a strained groin to start last Friday in Phoenix, indicated he was in good health, but it apparently was decided Monday afternoon that he would take a little more time with his groin rather than rush back too soon.

"I want him to feel comfortable, and we're not going to put him in a situation where he's not," Islanders coach Scott Gordon explained today after practice. "If he wants another day of practice, take another day of practice. If he comes in tomorrow and says, I'd rather wait three more days, then, so be it. But he's ready to play, and that's it. It's a conversation him and I have on a daily basis. There's nothing more to it than that."

DiPietro went through the full practice today and stayed out extra to test some new catching gloves, so, it appears he's gearing up to face the Flames tomorrow night at the Pengrowth Saddledome. But it's never certain until he steps on the ice, and really, he's spent too much time on the injured list this season to risk another more lengthy injury because he came back too soon.

ISLES FILES: D Freddy Meyer sat out practice with a groin strain, but no timetable for his return was announced. D Radek Martinek, who missed the past 17 games since injuring his right shoulder against Ottawa on Nov. 29 took part in practice and looks ready to go…The official announcement of Eastern Conference All-Star reserves will be made at noon ET on Thursday, and it appears certain the Islanders will be represented.

Greg Logan is live in Calgary and answers your Islanders questions today in a live chat at 1 p.m.

Early in the season, before the Islanders' losses started piling up even faster than their injuries, new coach Scott Gordon spoke in well-reasoned fashion about the folly of always challenging the refs and yapping about every call. He encouraged his players to take a quieter, more low-key approach as the path to respect.

But after the Islanders' 3-2 loss to Edmonton last night at Rexall Place, a game that was decided by a video replay ruling that upheld an Oilers goal that appeared to have been kicked in, it was Gordon himself who dropped the gloves and went toe-to-toe with referees Gord Dwyer and Chris Lee. It was the natural frustration of a coach whose team lost for the 13th straight time on the road and saw a 2-0 lead disappear when the first two Edmonton goals went in off skates.

The first off Isles defenseman Brendan Witt was unlucky. The second off the skate of Oilers defenseman Jason Strudwick to tie the game at 2 was something else. It was ruled a goal on the ice, but the game was halted several minutes for a replay that appeared to show, Strudwicks' skate blade lifted off the ice as his left foot moved perceptibly toward the net. Add a penalty for goaltender interference on the Islanders' Tim Jackman for crashing into Edmonton netminder Dwayne Roloson at the end of a rush and a no call against Strudwick and Zack Stortini for steamrolling Isles goaltender Joey MacDonald moments later at the other end, and Gordon's fuse was lit.

"Our guys played well," Gordon said. "We obviously didn't get any calls. Tim Jackman goes in, and it should be a power play for us [for hooking by Edmonton]. We didn't get the call. At the opposite end, Joey gets run. No call. A goal gets kicked in. They ruled it didn't get kicked in. It looked like it was kicked in to me. So, we played a good game."

Before answering postgame questions, Gordon spent a few minutes reviewing tape of the key calls, especially the Oilers' tying goal. "It was definitely a kicking motion," Gordon said. "Beyond that, I don't know what the decision was as far as if it went directly in or hit something else or what the rule was, but it was definitely a kick at that puck."

Asked if he's beginning to sense a lack of respect from the refs for the NHL's last-place team, Gordon said, "It just seems like the last three games it's kind of hard to believe that we only have four power plays."

Actually, the Islanders have been granted five power plays in the first three games of a trip that ends Thursday in Calgary, but you get Gordon's drift. His predecessor, Ted Nolan, often complained about the officials to no avail. Maybe by waiting to pick his spot, it lends more credibility to Gordon's rant. If nothing else, it's worth a shot. Officials reads newspapers and go on the Internet.

Then again, maybe it's just a fact of life in sports that, the more you win, the more respect you get from officials.

Rick DiPietro's health update

Goaltender Rick DiPietro was first off the ice at the pre-game skate on Monday, a sign that he was the likely starter against the Oilers, but he was last out of the training room after the workout, a tipoff that the Islanders aren't ready to push him just yet in the aftermath of Halloween knee surgery and a recent strained groin. Gordon chose to go with MacDonald in net for the second straight game.

With a day off scheduled today and a practice Wednesday in Calgary before a game against the Flames Thursday night, that would give DiPietro six days of recovery time since his last start Friday in Phoenix.

Asked if he was expecting to play against the Oilers, DiPietro said, "No, I think the plan all along was to let Joey play tonight, then have the extra two days off and then play in Calgary."

So, the Islanders simply are taking a cautious approach at this stage of DiPietro's comeback, right? "Yeah, just see what happens," DiPietro said. "I'm just fresh off [the groin injury], and we're making sure everything goes according to plan."

MacDonald admitted he was a "little bit surprised" to get the starting nod after the morning skate, but he added, "Every night I just try to be ready. I came in, and they said, 'You're playing.' So, I went on with my routine."

Isles files

MacDonald said the drive by Marc Pouliot from above the right circle that led to the winning goal by Andrew Cogliano on a third-period tap-in never reached him. It hit other players in a scrum in front of the net before finally dropping down in front of the crease, where Cogliano reached it. "I never picked it up off the bat," MacDonald said, "and all of a sudden it dropped down and he was right there to tap it in."…The Isles' two first-period goals were provided by Kyle Okposo and Blake Comeau, giving their line centered by Mike Comrie points in six of the past seven games…With C Doug Weight sidelined by an injury to his lower right leg, Gordon sometimes used Trevor Smith at center on a fourth line but generally rotated top three centers Comrie, Richard Park and Josh Bailey, double-shifting them at times with fourth-line wingers, including Jon Sim, who joined the lineup when Weight went out.

There's no good time for an injury, but if ever there's a place where Doug Weight would push himself through pain to play if it were possible, it's Edmonton. So, it was with a pained look on his face that Weight walked out of the Islanders' locker room following the pre-game skate and pronounced himself out of tonight's game against his former team.

Weight was wearing a walking boot on his right foot as he trudged to the team bus. He just returned from a three-game absence for a groin strain, and four games later, he's hurt again, adding to the Islanders' injury woes.

"I haven't been able to move very well the last couple games," said Weight, who recorded his 1,000th and 1,001st career points two games ago in Phoenix. "San Jose was pretty tough on me, so, I've got to make a decision here. There's no place I'd rather play, man."

Center Frans Nielsen is traveling with the team and working his way back from multiple leg injuries, but it's too early for him to attempt a comeback. He has yet to test his injured right leg in a full scrimmage with the team. Most likely, coach Scott Gordon will insert winger Jon Sim in Weight's place and juggle his lineup. The Isles are thin at center without Weight, but rookie Trevor Smith, who has been left wing on a line with Weight and Trent Hunter, might be a possibility to shift to that role.

TRADE RUMORS: Once again, rumors of a trade sending Weight to Columbus flared up again today. But Weight was told by management earlier on this trip that nothing is brewing at the moment. That doesn't mean something won't happen later on as the March 4 deadline approaches, but it's not imminent. Weight also reinforced his desire to remain with the Islanders, saying it might be different if he didn't believe they could improve this season and possibly turn it around next season and contend for a playoff berth. If they get past all the injuries and goaltender Rick DiPietro regains top form in his comeback from knee and hip surgeries, Weight said, he believes the Islanders can be a successful team.

ISLES FILES: Eastern Conference All-Star team reserves are scheduled to be announced Thursday when the Islanders are in Calgary to play the Flames that night. The odds-on favorite to make it for the Islanders is defenseman Mark Streit, who leads all NHL defensemen with 32 points and is playing a team-high 25:13 per game…Goaltender Rick DiPietro was first off the ice today at the pre-game skate, said he is healthy and looks set to start against the Oilers…Defenseman Radek Martinek returned to Long Island to undergo what was described as "final tests" on his injured right shoulder. He is expected to rejoin the team in Calgary.