Do Isles ride Joey MacDonald?

Islanders coach Scott Gordon gave his team a day off from practice today after back-to-back wins over Columbus and the Rangers before a trip to Atlanta to meet the Thrashers Thursday night. The question now is whether Gordon gives goaltender Joey MacDonald another day off and goes with backup Yann Danis in net on the road. Before the Isles' 2-1 win over the Rangers, this is how Gordon addressed a question about the goaltender rotation: "We've got to see how Joey handles it first. You've got to earn it, and so far, he's earned it to come back [against the Rangers]. We'll get a day off and take a look at how he's feeling and see if it's the right thing to do to come back with him [in Atlanta]." At times, MacDonald was spectacular in stopping point-blank Rangers shots, but he was under duress all night. The Rangers outshot the Isles, 18-5, in the second period, forcing Gordon to call a timeout mid-period in a scoreless game. "One of the reasons I called a timeout was to give Joey a chance to catch his breath," Gordon said. "They had a lot of sustained pressure. Joey was gassed." MacDonald, who made 35 saves and just missed his first shutout by allowing a Markus Naslund goal with 1:41 left in the game, said he appreciated the chance to regroup. When a team is as physical as the Rangers, MacDonald admitted it also takes a toll on the goaltender. "They were getting a lot of pucks to the net," MacDonald said. "They knock you over, and you've got to battle for your ground." As well as MacDonald has played -- the Isles are a .500 team with him in net (4-4-1) -- the temptation is to ride him the way they rode Rick DiPietro when he was healthy. Atlanta has one less win and one less point than the Islanders, so, this is an opportunity to inch closer to .500 overall. Danis has been away from the for three seasons, but he held up well for two periods in his return against Montreal last Saturday. However, giving up four goals in the third period works against him even though there were horrendous breakdowns in front of him. After the Rangers game, I asked MacDonald is he ever played three games in three nights last season at Bridgeport. He said he did it once and has done it a few other times in the past, and he added, "I've played four in five nights a few times." So, MacDonald is eager to go again. But Atlanta is the softest spot on a schedule that has the Islanders playing home games against powerful Pittsburgh Saturday and tough Philadelphia on Tuesday before a home-and-home set with Ottawa. Considering how hard MacDonald worked against the Rangers, it might be time to give Danis another shot. Let me know how you think Gordon should handle the goaltenders in DiPietro's absence.Source