Islanders lose Rick DiPietro 4 to 6 weeks

UNIONDALE, N.Y. DiPietro, who had his right knee operated on in June, watched New York's first four games as the backup as he continued his recovery. He then started three straight but was forced out after one period of the third against Carolina on Oct. 25.

DiPietro had arthroscopic surgery on Friday to repair a torn meniscus, but the Islanders wouldn't reveal which knee was injured.

The Islanders were guarded about DiPietro's latest injury and didn't disclose any details until Saturday night. Until then, they only described it as a lower-body ailment that was unrelated to previous injuries.

DiPietro, in the third season of a landmark 15-year deal with the Islanders, has had three operations in seven months - including a hip procedure in March. That marked the second time DiPietro had hip surgery, once on each side in consecutive years