To the surprise of no one, Islanders coach Scott Gordon said yesterday that Dwayne Roloson and Rick DiPietro would split time in net “for the short term, anyway.”
That leaves goalie Martin Biron on the outside looking in and likely as trade bait. General manager Garth Snow said he is not concerned that Biron’s potential lack of playing time might have an adverse impact on his trade value.
“There’s no rush from my standpoint,” Snow said yesterday. “Marty’s body of work speaks for itself. People know what he’s capable of.”
Snow said that he was pleased with what he saw from DiPietro, who played his first game over a year in Friday night’s 4-3 loss to Dallas.
“I thought it was a big step in the right direction,” Snow said. “It’s not going to be an overnight process. It’s a big positive for him and our organization, and it’s going to continue to evolve.”
The next part of the evolution will come within a week, according to Gordon, who said that DiPietro will play again by next Tuesday’s game against the Penguins, though it will likely happen sooner.
Roloson, who continues his excellent season, is expected to start tonight when the Isles host Detroit.
“Right now, we’ve gotta get Ricky going,” Gordon said. “But we also gotta [be] smart, too.”
Gordon would not say if Roloson was still the team’s top netminder.
“Define it however you want,” he said. “You still have to win, have to produce. That’s what it’s going to come down to. Both guys have to play well in order to play.”
With winger Sean Bergenheim (rib) fully participating in practice, the Isles won’t be able to keep him on injured reserve much longer. They have until 5 p.m. today to make a move.
Defenseman Brendan Witt missed practice yesterday to get his injured calf checked out and could be a candidate to open up a roster spot for Bergenheim, but Gordon said that he didn’t think Witt’s injury was significant. The team would like to avoid waiving a player to make room for Bergenheim.
Phoenix defenseman Ed Jovanovski was suspended for two games for an elbow to the head of Isles center John Tavares on Saturday.