Blues-Islanders Preview

to have any chance at reaching the playoffs this season. The All-Star goaltender, however, is likely to be on the bench again in his team's home opener. Backup Joey MacDonald figures to be back in net Saturday night as the Islanders try to give coach Scott Gordon his first NHL victory when the St. Louis Blues visit Nassau Coliseum. DiPietro is by far the Islanders' most important player, providing strong goaltending for a team that has little firepower and is expected to finish near the bottom of the Eastern Conference again this season. Injuries, though, have become a concern for DiPietro, who at 26 has already had surgery on both hips -- one during this offseason -- and a knee operation. He was limited to one preseason appearance -- a 6-0 loss at Florida on Monday -- and sat out Friday's season-opening 2-1 loss at New... [read full story]