A day shy of the one-year anniversary of his last game with the Islanders, Rick DiPietro is slated to start tonight for Bridgeport when the Isles’ AHL affiliate visits Providence.
DiPietro was removed from his last game with the Sound Tigers on Dec. 11 after two periods when he experienced stiffness in his leg that the team said was unrelated to the knee injury that has kept him out of action since last season.
It’s expected that DiPietro, who has played just four periods with Bridgeport this season, would need at least one full game before the Isles would consider playing him in an NHL game.