Rick DiPietro starts in Florida

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... [read full story]