Lets talk net minders

Although Garth Snow said on NHL Live yesterday that Rick Dipietro will be back skating in August and ready for training camp in September, the thought is still that the Islanders need a more experienced back up or what some bloggers have called a 1a goalie. From looking back at last season this player should be prepared to play a large number of games due to Rick’s unpredictable injuries. So with that the general concusses for a 1a goalie is upcoming free agent Craig Anderson (formally) of the Florida Panthers. The 28 year old net minder is a reliable player the Islanders can utilize during DP’s off days and/or the days he’s injured. Anderson played in 31 games for the panthers with 15 wins and an impressive .924% saves. Anderson set an NHL record 53 saves in a shut out ironically against the Islanders. To compare, Yann Danis who played in the same amount of games as Craig Anderson had a worse record (10-17-3 compared to Andersons 15-7-5), and had a better save percentage. Joey MacDonald’s save percentage was lower compared to Andersons, bur its hard to gage the other stats since MacDonald played 18 less games than Macdonald and Anderson. With a solid back up/starter Like Craig Anderson in place it gives the Islanders another piece of the puzzle in their rebuild.