Are the New York Islanders Trying Harder with Rick DiPietro in Net?

The New York Islanders have split time in goal for much of the year between Rick DiPietro and Dwayne Roloson. Through the team's first 27 games, DiPietro has started 13 games, while Roloson has started 14.

What caught my eye when looking over their stats is the fact that although Roloson is dominating the competition in goals against average, he also has a much worse record.

As of December 12, Roloson has only been allowing an average of 2.5 goals per game, yet is 2-11-1. On the other hand, DiPietro is allowing 3.81 goals per game, but is 3-6-4.

With Roloson allowing a lot less goals per game, one would expect him to also be winning more games. But it is DiPietro that has won more games, and has also taken more games into overtime.

After seeing this statistical discrepancy I decided to look more into what could be causing it and came across a shocking, and bit confusing statistic.

According to my number crunching, the Islanders are scoring an average of only 1.5 goals per game when Roloson is in the net, and meanwhile are scoring 2.85 goals per game with DiPietro in the net. That is a 1.35 goal differential for the Islanders depending on which goalie is in net. This explains how although DP is allowing a lot more goals, he is also winning more games.

The question then becomes, why are the Islanders scoring so much more with DiPietro in the net? One explanation could be that he is more aggressive, and moves the puck up the ice faster than Roloson does. Although this is definitely true, this alone could not possibly cause the Islanders to score at such a higher rate.

Could it possibly be that the Islanders are just trying harder with DiPietro in the net, or are more fired up? That is not something that I can tell you, but I can tell you this: If the Islanders had scored the 2.85 goals per game they scored when playing with DiPietro when Roloson was int he net, they would have gone 7-7 in Roloson's 14 games.

Meanwhile the Islanders would only have won a single game that DiPietro was in net for if they had scored at the pace that they have been scoring with Roloson in the net.

Comment below what you think the reason is behind this discrepancy.

Follow me on Twitter @cleyden for more Islanders news and stats.