Kick Save and a Beauty

For the first time in a long time on Long Island, Islanders fans finally know they have a legitimate star player. And for the first time in franchise history, their only true star player is their goaltender. Being an NHL goaltender is quite unique. Goaltenders can steal games for their teams and can carry their teams on their shoulders for extended periods of times. Unlike position players who are stars, you can't double team a goaltender in an effort to shut him down. So if he's on, good luck.

The Islanders this season will only be as good as Rick DiPietro allows them to be. DP proved last season that he can carry this team on a fork lift if necesary. He carried them on a huge stretch right up until his head injury against Montreal that propelled the Isles as far as 6th place in the standings. When the Isles stumbled as low as 11th place, it became apparent how valueable DP was to the Isles. Even though his play was a little eratic towards the beginning of the season, when looking at the season as a whole, there is no question that this was his finest season in the NHL. He tied a franchise record with 32 wins and had a stellar .919 save percentage.

Get this: of all goalies who played at least 50 games last season, DiPietro was 3rd in the NHL in save percentage, behind Brodeur's .922 and Luongo's .921. That's some pretty excellent company. Save percentage is the most telling stat for a goaltender, because it is a measure of how many goals a goaltender allows based on the amount of shots he faces. A number like goals against average really is more of a measure of team defense than it is a measure of a goaltender's ability. For example, Luongo's save percentage has been great for years, while his GAA has been mediocre being that he was on a weak Panthers team. As for DP, the intangible when examining a goaltender's save percentage is the quality of shots/scoring chances he is facing.

If DP can put up a similar save percentage this season and the Isles can limit the quality scoring chances in front of him, then look for the Isles to do some damage this season. That is a BIG "if." The Isles need to make a push for some bigger crease clearing defenseman so they can match each of their defensive defenseman up with puck-movers MAB and Campoli. Martinek is very sound defensively, but is hardly the crease clearing type. This kind of thinking leads us back to Markov, if he could be had for the right price.

Looking into the crystal ball, I would look for DP to play 70 games, and compile a record of 32-23-12, with a 2.38 GAA and a 0.923 save percentage. DP is entering the prime of his career and his best seasons are ahead of him. Hopefully the Isles can use these years to their advantage. Because in 10 years, look for the Isles to have a new up and coming starting goaltender, and a very expensive backup.