Dipietro left out of opening day

For those Islanders fans wondering why Rick Dipietro's name was not mentioned during the introductions for the home opener on Saturday night, it's because team officials made a mistake and left him off the list of injured players.

There were a handful of players wearing suits, who stepped onto the ice and gave a wave, including captain Doug Weight, but Dipietro was not one of them. According to Newsday's Katie Strang, "Rick DiPietro absolutely did not decline to be a part of last night's introduction ceremony."

Islanders president Chris Dey told Strang, "We made a mistake and left Rick out of the introductions. It was nothing intentional, but we are glad to hear that fans wanted to hear him introduced by the team. We are all looking forward to his return to the lineup."

It's a minor mistake, but many fans were curious about their beloved goalie.

Newsday has new Isles beat reporter

Katie Strang (not pronounced Strange) replaced Greg Logan on the Islanders' beat at Newsday earlier this month. It has been years since Alan Hahn covered the team - my early favorite writer and a die-hard Islanders fan - so for me, Katie has big shoes to fill. Not Logans (although he did a solid job covering the team), but Hahns.

So far, Strang has done a good job with the limited coverage she can provide in the summer. A graduate of Michigan State and Columbia University's J-School, Strang is on the fast track. She barely spent anytime on the high school staff, where other journalism careers have died at Newsday.

I have covered college lacrosse games with Strang at Stony Brook on a number of occasions and she always spoke the loudest and asked the most thought-provoking questions. Based on that, I know she'll do the same with her new beat.

Good luck, Katie!