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Rick DiPietro sits out tonight’s game with knee swelling

Atlanta Thrashers v New York Islanders

of the New York Islanders of the Atlanta Thrashers on December 11, 2010 at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. The Thrashers defeated the Isles 5-4.

Jim McIsaac

Islanders fans are getting a bit too used to hearing stories like this one. Starting goalie Rick DiPietro is being hampered by swelling in his knee today and he’ll miss tonight’s game against Phoenix. Strangely enough, backup goalie and occasional starter Dwayne Roloson isn’t getting the call to start tonight’s game. Instead, the Islanders are calling up Nathan Lawson from the AHL and he’ll get the start.

Islanders fans are getting a bit too used to hearing that DiPietro is being bothered by something physically and having him miss any time at all is a bit too regular of an occurrence. For what it’s worth, Newsday’s Katie Strang tweets that DiPietro is feeling fine, it’s just a preventative measure.

Rick DiPietro said he’s confident the setback is minor one; “I wouldn’t have been out there today if I thought it was something serious.”

Let’s hope that that’s just the case. The Islanders are having a bad enough season as it is without having to go through the usual DiPietro injury routine. If DiPietro were to be out for an extended amount of time at all this year, it would be extra salt thrown in the wounds considering they’ve been without top players Kyle Okposo and Mark Streit this season.

As for Lawson, his season so far in Bridgeport of the AHL has been rough. He’s 2-4-2 with a .890 save percentage and a 3.78 goals against average. Dealing with the Coyotes tonight might not make for the greatest introduction to the NHL.