Goalie plan: Isles will go with the hot hand

SUNRISE, Fla.

Three goaltenders is not really a recipe for success. If it were, someone would have tried it for longer than a few weeks in the last decade or two, rather than staying with three until things could be sorted out, either via trade or a demotion.

The Islanders have had three goaltenders penciled into their 23-man roster since training camp began. Al Montoya, Evgeni Nabokov and Rick DiPietro were going to be on the Opening Night roster unless one of them got hurt or had a seriously lousy preseason. As it happened, they all played well and were healthy until DiPietro suffered a concucussion after takings a wayward slapshot off his helmet in practice 11 days ago.

But DiPietro seems to be back in playing shape. So where does that leave the crowded Islanders net?

"Day-to-day, like every other position," coach Jack Capuano said. "My feeling has always been, competition is good. In goal, on D, the forwards -- we want guys competing for spots and playing time, and when they're out, we want them a little unhappy and working hard to get in."

The Islanders have consecutive weeks with three games, every other night, coming up. It's a little farfetched to say fans could see a different goaltender in each game of each week, but not even Capuano would rule that out.

"Once you start saying, 'This guy's playing Game 1, that guy's playing Game 2 and the other guy is playing Game 3,' " Capuano said, "is when it all falls apart. You can't plan that far ahead in this league. Something happens every day."

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There always is the possibility of a trade, but without a serious injury, teams are not yet looking elsewhere to fill holes in goal just two weeks into the season. So Nabokov, who made his second start Saturday night, and Montoya, who is sporting a solid 2.01 goals-against average in four starts, are not exactly being showcased; it's more Capuano looking for the hot hand to establish a pecking order.

And for it to be a true three-goaltender rotation, DiPietro has to prove he can stay healthy. He was preparing to start against the Lightning 10 days ago, but those plans quickly changed.

So it's three goaltenders for the foreseeable future.

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Three's a crowd in AHL

There were six goaltenders in training camp, and the other three, prospects Kevin Poulin, Anders Nilsson and Mikko Koskinen, went to AHL Bridgeport, where first-year Sound Tigers coach Brent Thompson has had to dole out time similar to Capuano.

There is a clear pecking order there, though. Poulin and Nilsson, who had good camps, split the first six games before Saturday night's game at St. John's. Koskinen struggled in camp relative to the other two, and the fact that he hasn't played a minute has general manager Garth Snow searching for options.

Koskinen could go to the East Coast Hockey League, but the Islanders haven't found a team willing to take the goaltender yet. If Koskinen goes to Europe, league transfer rules require the Islanders to recall him before Jan. 15, or he must stay in Europe the entire season.

But letting a prospect sit is not what Snow wants, so a solution should be found within a week or two.

Speaking of Bridgeport, a couple of the Isles' minor-leaguers have gotten off to solid starts. Winger Justin DiBenedetto, 23, was tied for the AHL lead with seven goals and defenseman Aaron Ness followed up an eye-opening training camp by going 1-2-3 and a plus-4 in his first six games with Bridgeport.

Plus/Minus

Plus: Pierre Turgeon, Benoit Hogue and Game 7 hero David Volek will be on hand next Saturday as part of a pregame ceremony to honor the 20th anniversary of the 1992-93 Isles team that made a surprising run to the Wales Conference finals.

Minus: That's the last Isles team to win a playoff round.