The New York Islanders will visit the Washington Capitals Tuesday, and backup goaltender Evgeni Nabokov is expected to get the start, as starting goalie Rick DiPietro is about to go under the knife again -- this time for a sport hernia that will end his season.
DiPietro has had an up-and-down career with the Islanders (16-21-2, 38 points) that has featured a lot of time spent on the injured list. This fact was highlighted in SI.com's hockey's "Truth and Rumors" section Monday.
"[DiPietro], has played all of 47 games in four years for the New York Islanders, winning 14 of them. For that, he has been paid $18 million. All that remains on his contract is another nine years and $40.5 million. If the Isles don't use the insurance model and push DiPietro out, they could buy out the goalie for an 18-year-period, and all it will cost them is $27 million or $1.5 million a season -- providing them a $2.5 million savings against the salary cap."
For more on the Islanders, check out the SB Nation blog Lighthouse Hockey, while Jaspers Rink has everything on the Capitals.