It went from embarrassing to serious very quickly for Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro, who said yesterday he will miss four-to-six weeks because of numerous facial fractures resulting from a punch he took from Penguins goalie Brent Johnson in a fight during Wednesday’s 3-0 loss in Pittsburgh.
On top of that, there’s swelling again in DiPietro’s surgically repaired left knee, which very much puts in jeopardy the rest of the beleaguered netminder’s season.
“It’s unfortunate and frustrating and every other emotion you can throw in there,” DiPietro said at the Coliseum, sporting a deep purple welt under his right eye. “You don’t ever want a broken face to be the reason for extra rest, but you keep telling yourself everything happens for a reason. I’m not sure what that reason is yet, but I’m sure at some point it will come to the surface and make when we win the Stanley Cup that much sweeter.”
The original X-rays taken on DiPietro’s face in Pittsburgh came back negative, but upon returning to New York, the CT scan showed multiple fractures.
“I can’t sit here and tell you how long it’s going to take my bones to heal,” DiPietro said, “but I’ll drink a lot of milk and say a lot of prayers and hopefully this thing heals up quick.”
After playing 13 games in the past two seasons because of an assortment of injuries, DiPietro, 29, began the season healthy. By December, there was swelling in his knee and he was forced to miss two weeks.
The decision by DiPietro to fight — a tough one to validate considering the team already was down by three goals, there were less than 17 seconds left in the game and the Islanders have very little chance at the playoffs — was backed not just by his teammates, but his coach as well.
“Whether you win or lose a fight, [the fighter] is there for [his] teammates and that’s all you can ask,” interim coach Jack Capuano told The Post on Thursday. “It showed a lot of courage for what he did and it could have been the opposite side, Rick could have thrown the punch. You know, it happens.”
Tonight, when the Islanders play host to the Senators, Capuano will have to turn to 20-year-old rookie goalie Kevin Poulin. Who will dress as a backup is still undetermined, as the other active goalie, Nathan Lawson, is out with a strained MCL in his left knee.
It must also be noted the Islanders traded veteran Dwayne Roloson to the Lightning for a minor-league defenseman Dec. 31. Last week, they tried to claim two-time All-Star goalie Evgeni Nabokov off of waivers, but he chose to sit out the season (by way of suspension) rather than report to the team.
At practice yesterday, the other goalie in nets besides Poulin was an off-ice official, Gary Boddington.
