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New Islanders backup Poulin gets call to start tonight

Albany Devils v Bridgeport Sound Tigers

BRIDGEPORT, CT - DECEMBER 19: Tim Sestito #12 of the Albany Devils misses the third period deflection attempt against Kevin Poulin #38 of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at the Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard on December 19, 2012 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The Sound Tigers defeated the Devils 4-3. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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The (temporary?) post-Rick DiPietro era on Long Island is underway and the new Islanders backup, Kevin Poulin, gets right to action tonight as he’ll be in goal to face Carolina.

For Poulin, it’s not his first time with the big club, but the new set of circumstances has him feeling a bit conflicted as Arthur Staple of Newsday reported. Going from being a starter in the AHL to taking over for DiPietro as Evgeni Nabokov’s backup makes for a dramatic change.

“At one point, every goaltender has to do that,” Poulin said Saturday. “I’m just going to embrace every chance I get to play.”

He gets the chance to do that tonight against the Hurricanes but he’ll have to improve upon his AHL numbers in a big way to give Nabokov the backup support he needs. A 3.22 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage won’t exactly cut it in the NHL.