Honoring The Great "26"

Tonight, The New York Islanders will face the Buffalo Sabres and add a storied player to their hall of fame.  Like those before him, Flatley’s banner will be raised to the rafters and bronzed plaque will be mounted on the wall outside the team’s locker room.

Patrick Flatley was selected by New York Islanders in the first round, #21 overall in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft.  In 712 games played, Flatley had 160 and 328 for 488 points in 12 seasons with the Islanders from the 84-85 to 95-96 seasons.  He was named the fifth captain in team history in 1991.  Flatley retired after the 96-97 season, where he played for the New York Rangers.

Isles Notes:

Despite playing hard, J.T. and the Islanders fell to the Philadelphia Flyers and G Sergei Bobrovsky by the score of 3-2.

Islanders.nhl.com reports that “Rick DiPietro will undergo surgery to repair a sports hernia. The procedure will sideline the Islanders goaltender for 10 weeks.

DiPietro, 30, has been sidelined since December 3, first with a groin strain and then with what is classified as a sports hernia and knee swelling. The Winthrop, MA, native has appeared in eight games this season, posting a 3-2-3 record.”

Per Arthur Staple, DiPietro has played 47 games the last 4 seasons. This is his 6th surgery since 2008.  DiPietro tells Newsday he has no plans to retire: "Nothing like that has even crossed my mind... I know I can play."

Coach Capuano says the lineup stays the same tonight. Evgeni Nabokov will go for 300 career wins in his 11th straight game. 

Kevin Poulin will dress as a back up again tonight after being recalled from Bridgeport on January 9^th. In BP, Poulin was riding a 4-0-1 streak with three consecutive shutouts, yielding a stingy 2 goals in his last 4 starts.  He has yet to play since being called up.

The Bridgeport Soundtigers report that Tomas Marcinko is back in the lineup for first time since 12/30, since being injured in Norfolk against the Admirals.

Tom Mascioli @islesinfo reports that “prospect D Brenden Kichton is currently tied for the scoring lead among dmen in the WHL: 7-34-41 in 39 GP. 34 assists leads all dmen.”