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When Rick DiPietro was selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2000 entry draft by the Islanders, some of the assembled media raised a
collective eyebrow -- not because DiPietro wasn't a fine prospect, but the Islanders, under the guidance of general manager Mike Milbury, haven't exactly been patient with prospects and certainly not goaltenders during his tenure which began on Dec. 12, 1995, after he stepped down from coaching.
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CHIRPIN'
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"No doubt about it. He was the last one in the NHL to play without the helmet so he probably had the last brains knocked out a long time ago."
-- Thrashers forward Ilya Kovalchuk when asked if he thought Oilers coach Craig MacTavish told his players to go after him
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THE NUMBER(S)
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That's how many games the Capitals will play at the MCI Center, starting Thursday night when they hosted Boston.
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WHO'S HOT
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In eight games from Dec. 3 to Dec. 18, Tampa Bay's Brad Richards racked up 11 points, three of them goals. He added to that
when he spoiled Ed Belfour's shutout bid with a goal with 1:36 left in regulation in a 2-1 Maple Leafs' win.
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WHO'S NOT
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Devils' forward Joe Nieuwendyk hadn't scored in 20 games before Thursday's meeting with the Penguins, in which he had a goal and an assist. The Devils can ill afford for him to go another 20 until the next one.
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THIS WEEK'S SIGN ...
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... the Earth is off its axis: How is it possible that the Pittsburgh Penguins are more popular on the road than they are at home? In 14 home games, the club averaged just 14,894 fans but away from the Igloo they're averaging a league-best 17,828.
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On April 6, 1995, the club had acquired Eric Fichaud, believing he would be the goalie of the future. Fichaud was the second goalie taken in the first round of the 1994 draft (No. 16 overall by Toronto) after Jamie Storr had been selected at No. 7. Fichaud played 75 games during the following three seasons -- 24 in 1995-96, 34 in 1996-97 and just 17 in 1997-98.
In June of 1997, the Islanders coveted Roberto Luongo, taking him at the No. 4 spot after making a deal with Toronto to snag the Nos. 4 and 5 picks (No. 5 was Eric Brewer, who played two seasons for the Islanders before being dealt to Edmonton in the trade that brought Roman Hamrlik to Long Island). Luongo, who Florida coach Mike Keenan believes has superstar potential, didn't last nearly as long as Fichaud. After playing only 24 games in 1999-2000, he was dealt to the Panthers with Olli Jokinen for Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha on June 24, 2000, which started the beginning of another active draft for Milbury who traded up to get DiPietro that same day.
New ownership has opened up the purse strings, allowing Milbury more options and not forcing him to dump salary on a yearly basis. Last year, it seemed the Islanders were heading in the right direction, but this year has been plagued by inconsistency and more questions than answers.
Hoping to solidify their netminding, the club called up DiPietro from Bridgeport of the American Hockey League. After a shaky start, he beat the Wild, 4-2, at Minnesota. The decision was made because neither incumbent -- Chris Osgood nor Garth Snow -- have provided the consistent performance the team has been looking for and DiPietro's play warranted him getting a shot. DiPietro, who was known for his Hollywood leading-man looks (slicked back black hair and braggadocio on draft day), has toned down his demeanor and has concentrated on just learning his job. He comes in at a time when the Islanders need him.
"We're not winning enough hockey games," said Milbury, who acknowledged he has too many netminders and likely will take steps to change that when the roster freeze is lifted after Christmas. "He may have a chance to help us do that. That's not an indictment of our own goaltenders, but we've been patient. And I'm not understanding our team's performance at all right now. I don't know what's going on with it. I don't know why we're a Jekyll and Hyde hockey team."
The Islanders, who played DiPietro in 20 NHL games his rookie year in 2000-01, kept him in the minors for all of last season. Unlike some of their other prospects, they seem determined to develop and hang onto the player they made the first goalie taken No. 1 overall in draft history.
Though this is his third year as a pro, he's still only 21 years old.
Beginning with the 1995-96 season through now, the goaltending position has been a revolving door. The Islanders have used 15 different netminders. Some stability there is long overdue.
Depth chart
After going scoreless in 11 straight games, Buffalo forward Chris Gratton broke out of his slump in a big way when he tied a
career high for points in a game with a goal and three assists against the Bruins in a 4-2 win on Wednesday night.
Montreal center Doug Gilmour has been on fire of late. He had two assists on Thursday against the Rangers, giving him seven points in the last three games.
The Ottawa Senators humiliated the Sharks, 9-3, on Saturday and are red hot. They've win six of their last seven contests and have lost only two of 19 as they compete for the top spot in the East. Against the Senators, the club had eight goal scorers. Only Magnus Arvedson had more than one goal.
The Habs will be without Oleg Petrov for 2-3 weeks as a result of a sprained MCL in his right knee suffered Wednesday during the second period of their game against San Jose. "I'm lucky it wasn't more serious," said Petrov, who is no stranger to knee woes. "It was just bad luck. I slipped near the boards and some of their players fell on me."
Word out of Ottawa is that the Senators are attempting to move one of their defensemen, which is likely to happen once the roster freeze is lifted after Christmas. Reportedly, management has spoken with a variety of clubs including the Rangers, Flames, Islanders, Capitals, Ducks, Coyotes, Blue Jackets and Thrashers.
With their loss to the Senators on Wednesday, the Devils dropped three in a row for the first time all season (0-2-0-1). "We didn't
show up," said coach Pat Burns. The Devils are generating very little offense and even fewer breaks these days. "We have to play a perfect game to stay in the game and win right now," said veteran defenseman Scott Stevens. They've gotten very little out of Patrik Elias lately. Even though the Devils beat the Penguins, Elias has now gone 12 games without scoring.
The acquisition of Mike Dunham will take some of the heat off Rangers' starting goalie Dan Blackburn. When Mike Richter went down, Blackburn played 18 straight games and lost four in a row before straining a groin. Dunham, who was the loser at home Thursday against Montreal, said he thinks it's a good situation. "Every team needs two goalies," he said. "When a goalie struggles, the other goalie steps up."
Speaking of goalies, the Flyers have been impressed by the work of Robert Esche. In his nine starts, he's 6-1-2 and has given up no more than two goals in any outing.
Flyers' defenseman Eric Desjardins played his 1,000th regular-season game on Wednesday night in Atlanta. "The most fun I've had in this game was with the Flyers, there's no doubt about it," he said. "It was great to win the Stanley Cup with the Montreal
Canadiens, there is nothing more than that, but I've been a Flyer for [almost] nine years now."
When the Thrashers signed veteran goalie Byron Dafoe on Nov. 20, they were expecting him to bail them out and give them a chance to win every night. But Dafoe's long layoff has slowed his progress. Through his first eight games, he was 2-6-0 with a 4.10 goals-against average and .857 save percentage. "When you miss training camp, it's always hard to catch up," said general manager Don Waddell. "Byron hasn't been great, but he hasn't been bad -- except for that one game in Washington. He ran out of gas there after playing an overtime game in Boston the night before."
Jan Hlavac, who was acquired by the Hurricanes on Nov. 1, has six goals for Carolina, all on the power play.
Tampa's Vincent Lecavalier has made a conscious decision to put the puck on net more than he's ever done in his career. In the past nine games, he's poured 41 shots on opposing goaltenders, including a career-high 11 against Vancouver on Nov. 29. He has 14 goals in 31 games and is on pace to score a career-high 37. "It used to be that I would get three [shots] on net and feel good," said Lecavalier. "Now I like to get five or six. Obviously, I don't want to shoot for nothing. But usually a shot is a good play and it's never a bad play."
After their 5-3 win over the Bruins on Thursday, the Capitals are 13-5 when they score a power-play goal and 1-11-3 when they
don't.
Nancy Marrapese-Burrell of the Boston Globe is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.
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