The competitor in Rick DiPietro smiled Wednesday, when the Islanders’ oft-injured goalie was activated from injured reserve after being out of action since out since Feb. 1 when he suffered a facial fracture in a fight with the Penguins goalie Brent Johnson.
The time off also gave the 29-year-old netminder some relief for his surgically repaired left knee, which was going through intermittent swelling during the 21 games DiPietro did play in the first part of the season.
“I feel good,” DiPietro said Wednesday. “Any time you come back from an injury, it’s a long and strenuous process, but it’s nice to be back around the guys and looking forward to the road trip.”
The Islanders next game is Friday at Carolina, followed by a swing through Florida when they play the Panthers on Saturday and the Lightning on Tuesday.
The Islanders come back to Long Island next Thursday to play the Thrashers.
How many of those games DiPietro starts in net is still to be determined. With 27-year-old rookie Nathan Lawson being sent back down to Bridgeport, the other goalie on the active roster is Al Montoya.
Montoya has played well since being acquired from the Coyotes for a sixth-round draft pick on Feb. 9, but was pulled in Tuesday’s 6-3 loss to the Rangers after giving up five goals in the first two periods.
“As we go, we’ll see how Ricky feels,” coach Jack Capuano said. “He’s obviously going to get in there and play games now. That’s something that we’ll sit down with our goalie coaches and our trainer and discuss, but we’d like to see Ricky win some games down the stretch, for sure.”
DiPietro said it was a combination of the broken face and the knee swelling that kept him out this long. But how close is he to being the DiPietro of old – the onewho inspired owner Charles Wang to bestow on him a 15-year contract worth $67.5 million five years ago – is a tough thing to figure out.
“Those things take time, and it was unfortunate and it happened and you get past it,” DiPietro said. “I feel good in practice and everything else, but you really don’t know until you get a chance to get game action.”
With the Islanders having 11 games left in the season, and still being 11 points out of the final playoff spot (with six teams to leapfrog to get into eighth place), this might be considered a curious time for the team to put fragile DiPietro back on the ice. But for the competitor behind the mask, the decision was a no-brainer.
“You come back when you’re ready to come back, it doesn’t matter how many games left in the season,” DiPietro said. “It would make no sense to sit out. If we don’t make the playoffs, it’s a long summer. To continue to sit out and not get games before the season is over wouldn’t make any sense.”
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The Islanders also sent down forward Justin DiBenedetto. The feisty 22-year-old played eight games and had one assist. His demotion immediately brought the possibility of captain Doug Weight making a return – he has been skating on his own for weeks – but Capuano shot down that idea, saying the 40-year-old center is still experiencing soreness in his back. That injury has kept him from the lineup since Nov. 17.
Capuano said the team will make a decision whom to recall from Bridgeport either Wednesday or Thursday.