Three questions for the Islanders

3 Questions for the Islanders

1. Can they stay healthy? Before the team had even played a preseason game last season, two of their top three scorers were gone to shoulder injuries. That was followed by three regular defensemen and three goaltenders lost for varying times. The Islanders hired Sean Donellen to be their director of sports performance to help with nagging injuries and conditioning, but the greatest thing they need is luck to avoid the crazy things that befell them a year ago.

2. Who's in goal? Rick DiPietro is 30 now, but he still wants to prove he can be the team's No. 1 goaltender. Evgeni Nabokov spurned the Isles in January, but he's here on a cheap, one-year deal to try and prove he's still a legitimate NHL goalie. And Al Montoya, who had some nice games last season, is back as well. That's three veterans vying for time, and we haven't even mentioned the true top prospect, 21-year-old Kevin Poulin. This could be a mess or an area of real strength.

3. Will the defense hold up? The forwards are a young, talented group, but the defense is a puzzle -- three of the projected top six defensemen are 33 or older, and those three (Mark Streit, Mark Eaton and Mike Mottau) totaled 54 games because of injuries. injuries. Expect improvement from Andrew MacDonald and Travis Hamonic, but there isn't a ton of depth on the blue line.