The Five Most Memorable Rick DiPietro Moments

The New York Islanders and New York Mets have long had a lot in common; geography, colors, a crossover fanbase, ponzi-related ownership blunders, and of course that underdog "Ya Gotta Believe" charm.

As of Sunday night, there's a new similarity. The Mets are the first team in MLB history to sign a player to a 15-year contract. Surely, anyone interested enough in hockey to read this website knows the name of the first NHL team to do that.

Like Juan Soto, Rick DiPietro was a lefty with swagger. Unlike Soto, DiPietro's decade-and-a-half of job security - clinched September 12, 2006 - was earned mostly on speculation. The salary cap, brand new at the time, incentivized teams to lower their players' average annual pay by offering longer terms. 

So, while the deal was widely criticized, it was very soon copied throughout the league.

And the Brash Bostoner, for his part, dramatically outperformed expectations...at least until the tendons in his hips, groin and knees began disintegrating, which was unfortunately with nearly 14 years left on the deal.

But at least there's insurance for that.

So therefore, on a day when many Islander fans are overjoyed with the news of a new 15-year contract in New York, THN would like to commemorate the five most memorable Rick DiPietro moments in the following order:

5. April 10, 2004: First Career Playoff Victory

DiPietro's first Stanley Cup playoff win was a 3-0 road shutout of the soon-to-be champion Tampa Bay Lightning. Not too shabby.

4. March 13, 2007; Concussion

There were times when DiPietro appeared to fancy himself a third defenseman. But if there were ever a time for a goalie not to sprint twenty yards from his cage, this March 2007 moment in Montreal would probably have been it.

With the Isles cruising toward a sure playoff berth and leading late in the first period, DiPietro challenged tough guy Steve Begin to a race for a loose puck at the blue line. As the pair collided, Begin booted Rick in the noggin' for his first concussion.

DiPietro's worth was best demonstrated by what transpired in his absence. Mike Dunham stepped in and allowed 24 goals in his next five games — all losses — jeopardizing a promising season that would only be salvaged by the unlikely heroics of travel-size upstart Wade Dubielewicz.

3. April 14, 2007: Return From Concussion

One postseason win over the life of a 15-year contract is undeniably below par. But at least that one win was a goaltending masterpiece, a 32-save shocker over a loaded Sabres squad in Game Two of the 2006-07 quarterfinals, DiPietro's first game back in three weeks after suffering post-concussion symptoms.

2. January 26, 2008: "I Just F***ed My Hip Up"

Here's where everything truly went awry.

It was the 2008 NHL All-Star Skills Competition in Atlanta, and DiPietro, one of the league's top goalies for about the past year, was mic'd up.

"He's coming in with speed," Rick joked - ironically, it would turn out - about Minnesota superstar Marian Gaborik. "I'm gonna have to go take his legs out."

In a normal world, Gaborik might have been selected by the Islanders with the first pick in the 2000 draft. Instead, the team discarded 21-year-old Roberto Luongo in favor of DiPietro because... why not? Luongo had already allowed multiple goals at the NHL level, whereas DiPietro had surrendered none, and this was all the logic the Islanders ever needed in those years.

So here was "Gabo" in a Wild uniform, bearing down on the Islander goaltender in a new competition called the "Breakaway Challenge." He went for a wraparound. DiPietro made the split save, then raced over to Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins and said, "You go in there. I'm done. I just blew my whole leg out."

It was the unraveling of not only the Islanders' season but also Rick's entire career, live on national TV with behind-the-scenes audio.

"I just f----- my hip up again," he reiterated.

He was never the same.

1. March 5, 2007: 56 Saves

Rick DiPietro's greatest game was a loss. How Islander is that?

On the best night of the best stretch of the best year of his career, DiPietro stood tall before a national TV audience, beneath the bright lights of Madison Square Garden, and behind an Islander defense that effectively abandoned him.

Rick withstood a full game's worth of rubber in each period - 17 shots in the first, 19 each in the second and third, another two in overtime - before finally succumbing in a shootout.

When the final count was tallied, the Lefty Laureate had registered 56 saves on 57 shots in one evening. And no, these were not long-range snappers or any other type of easy stop. Practically, the entire game was played in Dipietro's crease.

"I always said to myself, 'Make sure when you go to Madison Square Garden to have your best games,'" he later remarked, and this surely qualified.

At the time, it was an Islander record for saves in one contest. Subsequently, Dwayne Roloson leaped over Rick with 58 saves on November 23, 2009.