Al Montoya on NHLWeekly

Well, it's 4:23 pm and at 6 pm tonight when I'm freaking out in front of my computer waiting for the phone call and the little "ON AIR" light to go off in my head, we'll also be waiting to speak with Islanders goaltender Al Montoya.

I don't think I'll be practicing my spanish on him, but it should be a fun conversation anyway.

Join us from 6 - 7 pm tonight on www.sportstalknetwork.com on NHLWeekly.

TGIF! It's Game Day!

I took full advantage of the time between games, and now that it's December 2nd, I'm looking at the calendar and freaking out. Too much to do for the Holidays and definitely not enough days to do it in.

But tonight we have hockey, so that means come 7:30 pm when the pre-game show is on, I will be parked in front of the TV with the netbook and a hot cocoa and my holiday Isles cap.

Thoughts on the game here at HockeyBuzz.com.

Dear Jack: You're starting Al right? Right????

BEST NEWS I'VE HEARD ALL DAY! MONTOYA STAYS!

So as I have been calling for on every outlet I could find, Al Montoya, The Big Cubano, remains an Islanders for next season.

Another 1st rounder, another ex-NY Ranger, finding opportunity and a home here on Long Island on the Uniondale ice.

Perfect!

Uniondale, NY, March 29, 2011 – The New York Islanders announced today that they have agreed to terms on a one-year contract extension with goaltender Al Montoya. The contract will keep him with the club through the 2011-12 season.



Montoya, 26, has a record of 8-4-4 with a 2.35 goals against average (GAA) and a .923 save percentage (save%) in 17 games with the Islanders this season. The Chicago, IL. native was acquired from the Phoenix Coyotes on Feb. 9, 2011 in exchange for a sixth round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.



Originally selected by the New York Rangers in the first round (sixth overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, Montoya has played in 197 career American Hockey League games with the Hartford Wolf Pack and San Antonio Rampage, compiling a 96-72-7 record with nine shutouts. Prior to joining the Islanders, the 6’2”, 195-pound goalie had played in five career NHL games, all with Phoenix, and posted a 3-1-0 record with a 2.08 GAA and a .925 save%. In 22 career NHL games, Montoya is 11-5-4 with a 2.29 GAA and a .924 save%.

Also announced today that Doug Weight will not return and how is that NOT surprising. Still with the organization, but as Deb Placey mentioned, he's probably looking for a GM job.

Um, Dougie... keep looking.

Isles Beat Tampa 5 - 2 on Slow Ice

“We’ve talked about that over the last couple of months, whether we’re down one or two goals, we’re finding a way to come back.” According to Jack Capuano, that’s the Islanders new game plan. Down by one early in the first on a blast by ex-Islander Nate Lawson, the Islanders found a way to not only come back, but keep everything out of their own net behind Al Montoya.

“Montoya was big tonight. He made a couple of big, big saves. Any time you get good goaltending, you have a chance to win hockey games.” Al has given them more than a chance as he is now 8-3-4 since being brought in from the AHL.

Jack Capuano called it getting some breaks against a “dangerous” team. My friend, Tampa Bay Lightning 7th Man winner, Dr. David Lubin, called it the worst game the Bolts had played. Which ever it was, luck or lack of effort, the Islanders ran over the Bolts and their star power 5 - 1 beating Dwayne Roloson four times while Michael Grabner scored his NHL Rookie leading 31st goal into an empty net on a short-handed chance.

@ItsCJYupp on Twitter asked @NYIslanders who was awarded the hard-hat last night in the dressing room. I’m thinking they may not travel with it, but if anyone should have worn it, I would vote for Matt Martin.

Martin, classified by some out-of-town sportswriters as a “knuckle dragger,” has proven he certainly can PLAY the game. Capuano moved Matt to the third line because “…. for us right now, we need secondary scoring. Our top two lines have been going pretty good, but we’re gonna need those guys down the stretch for sure.”

His promotion was awarded with a beautiful goal off a Jack Hillen pass that just seemed to energize everyone.

In Butch Goring’s post game remarks, he brought up the fact that the Islanders have been trying to prove they do belong in the NHL. Ever since Zenon Konopka barked at the Canadian media during practice that they shouldn’t be walking all over the Islanders. “We’re not doormats!,” the Islanders have been proving they belong in the National Hockey League. “You talk about respect? They can play, they’re confident in their ability and they want to get better. They haven’t given up yet and they want to be ready for next year.”

So while the Islanders playoff hopes for this season are slim, they are still not non-existent. And the Devils hopes are only slightly better. It will be interesting to see what will happen in these final eight games. Of course the biggest question will be how many games Rick DiPietro will start in this final stretch.

According to Capuano, Rick could have started him last night but chose to rest him. Look for Rick Thursday at the barn for sure. But Rick was just fine last night hanging on the side lines of the bench with the Islanders new part-time roadie -- Kevin Conolly. Not a bad gig for an actor from Long Island who is a life-long Isles fan.



See? You can only get these types of photos of you follow @JesseDEisenberg on Twitter.

When Rob Carlin asked Al Montoya how the win felt last night, he told him, “It feels great right now. Our goal this weekend was to come in and play our best hockey. I didn’t like that first goal that went in. But they fought for me and that made me want to play harder.”

Then he said something I didn’t know about the St. Pete Times Forum. “It was probably lucky that this is one of the slower ice in the league.” Hmmmm… Do the Bolts fans use that as an excuse sometimes?



“We knew they were going to come at us. This is a playoff hockey team. They want to play for the cup. They were getting power play after power play. Our PK was doing a great job all night. You shut down one of the best power play units in the league, that gives you a lot of momentum.”

Let’s see if that momentum can carry into Thursday night.

Heartbreak in Raleigh

*Okay, let me explain. I have not slept more than 4 hours for 12 days. Last night was the first night that Big Angry Man was back home. In all honesty, I slept through portions of this game. It's obvious from the first draft of this post game!!!

With Al Montoya facing Cam Ward in net in Raleigh*, anything could happen. And it did.

Jeff Skinner, in the race with Michael Grabner for Rookie of the Year, managed to put Atlanta on the board first with his 25th goal of the season. That didn't mean that Grabner did nothing in the first. Michael Grabner had two break-away chances that got Howie Rose and all Isles fans very excited. Both of which didn't get the Isles on the scoreboard.

It took a hard angle shot by Frans Nielsen banked off Ward's pad to put the Islanders even with the Hurricanes. It was a beautiful goal and Grabner earned an assist point on it.

But at 3:10 of the 1st, one of Grabner's NINE** shots for the night managed to go in the net for Grabner's 29th goal of the season. (One more closer to my winning that bet this season with Steve Carlson!)

The Islanders as a whole played well. There were no penalties called in the first period at all and only one during the second period on Michael Haley for interference. Carolina was hit with two penalties in the third period, but the Isles power play couldn't find a way to give them a safety net of another goal.

At that point, I heard Big Angry Man yell, "You're going to give them a way to tie up the game. You should have been able to score there boys." And as if he looked in a crystal ball, John Tavares' late period penalty in the third gave the Thrashers life that sealed the Isles fate.

Paul Maruice's squad desperately wanted the points. They need the points. And at 15:23, Eric Cole tied the game at two leaving the Islanders deflated. Especially Frans Nielsen. The Isles were badly out shot in the third 14 - 5. THAT'S how bad they wanted the win.

But the heartbreak in Raleigh actually came during the overtime segment when a slap shot by Joni Pitkanen banked off the post and behind Montoya who was stretched across the crease with glove in the air ready to stop it. He froze for a moment realizing he didn't have it in his glove. THERE was the heartbreak.

The only good thing about last night's game was there is no time to sulk over it. The Isles are in South Florida taking on the Panthers tonight in their second game of the week-end back-to-backs. Everyone is assuming Rick DiPietro will get the nod in net tonight.

I think it will be a good diversion for him. Besides the bad injury luck he has had, Rick also had to put down his dog this week after it was hit by a car. For anyone who has had to live with the loss of a family pet, you know what that is like.

Rick spoke openly about his last few weeks with both Newsday's Katie Strang and MSG's Rob Carlin. Check their twitter feeds and Ms. Strang's Newsday blog for details. I didn't know that Rick required metal plates in his face after Brett Johnson belted him. We'll just put that also on the list of why I'm not happy with the Pens goalie. Thank you.

Looking for another Grabner goal tonight so I can order my case of wine from Mr. Carlson in the morning. Now THAT would be SWEET!

**Yep, I got that one wrong too! Grabner had NINE shots on net.

No, I didn’t write anything yesterday. Well, actually I did, but Blogger decided to wipe it out as it hit the preview button. Too late to start over, I ditched the entire effort.

So what happened yesterday? Well, the Ness Mess was finalized as Aaron Ness left the University of MN to sign an entry level agreement with the NY Islanders. Much had been said previously about it and everyone speculated the outcome. Seems Aaron was another NY Islander draftee that wasn’t developing the way they expected in that particular program. Kyle Okposo left midseason to join the Islanders after a messy PR was in the papers. At least Ness is leaving after the season. But if this keeps up, I’m thinking UM may never let another Islander draftee play for the Golden Gophers.

From the Islanders Official Press Release:

Ness, the Islanders second-round selection (40th overall) in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, signs after completing three seasons of collegiate hockey at the University of Minnesota. The 5’10”, 177-pound defenseman appeared in 35 games this season with the Golden Gophers, recording 14 points (two goals, 12 assists) and 41 penalty minutes

In comparison, Blake Kessel, attending UNH and playing for The Wildcats has 26 points in 36 games, 5 goals, 21 assists and 32 penalty minutes. But Blake is 6’2” and 205 lbs.

Ness will be practicing with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers today and get his first taste of “pro” life. I’m glad he’s heading to B-Port. Think of how well some of the Islanders other defensemen have turned out going through there. Although how many Travis Hamonics can we hope to find?

Of course the Mother in me worries that if this kid CAN'T make it in the NHL, what happens then? Well, I'm told he can always go BACK and finish college, but it takes a special kind of person to be able to do that. I wish him well.


In other news, Rick DiPietro was taken off the IR and Nate Lawson was returned to Bridgeport. Expect to see RDP in one of the back-to-back games this weekend. Personally I am VERY excited to see how the tandem of RDP and Big Al works out. These next 11 games will be a good indication of whether the two can share the net and the workload for next season.

Rick is 29 now and 6’1. Montoya is 26 and 6’2”. Both goalies are American and are similar in some ways. If they can get along in that locker room, the NY Islanders may have one a very interesting goalie situation next season with Kevin Poulin salivating on the side-lines waiting for one of them to hit the IR so he can get back into the NHL. Again, something we’ll have to play “wait & see.”

Okay, speaking of Bridgeport, if you haven’t been there you really should go. Check out StadiumJourney.com’s report on Harbor Yard. I think we can get the rating up. Because personally, I really love our sister arena. Intimate, family-friendly and affordable for a excellent hockey. Love it. Also check out StadiumJourney.com for information on any other arena or venue you may be visiting. Hey, Know before you GO, right?

More as it comes through “the Twitter” as Betty White says.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Hope some of you have your Islanders Green Player T’s on!

Devilish Sunday @ the Barn

I cannot be upset with this game. Okay, it was a little on the boring side, but hey... that's Devils' hockey at it's finest.

There were a lot of red jerseys in the over 15,000 patrons that showed up this afternoon, but there were also a few Gillies 14 shirts along with this sign on the wall.

The Devils out shot the Islanders 29 - 22. Obviously a very low shot percentage game. There were large stretches of time where no shots were recorded (see opening statement).

Brian Rolston finally put the Devils on the board four minutes into the 2nd on a power play goal It took until almost the end of the second for Josh Bailey to tie it up at one.

Less than 3 minutes into the third, Ilya Kovalchuk (of course) put the Devils up by one and then it became a game of trying to not get even further behind. Blake Comeau tied the game at 2 at 16:18, much to Marty Brodeur's dismay.


Frans Nielsen scored on Marty Brodeur in the shoot-out with his patented "gimmick" as Howie liked to call it. Kovalchuk scored on Montoya. It wasn't until Brian Rolson had waited for seven shooters to fail before beating Al Montoya to give the Devils their two points.

While it was a hard fought game with Comeau and Okopso throwing some big hits along with Jack Hillen taking another chance on offering up a hip-check (and getting away with it this time! Nice!), there were no fighing penalties. Although I'm pretty sure if Michael Haley had his way, there would have been. John Tavares was knocked down more times than he'd like to think about and Matt Moulson was roughed up around Marty's net. He didn't seem to be very happy about it.

Al Montoya did an amazing job keeping the Isles in the game though out. Even if the shot total was low, the shots the Devils take are quality. To a man, everyone speaks highly of Al Montoya.

"We're a young group of guys and we showed a lot of patience tonight." PA Parenteau told Stan Fishler. He called Montoya "Monty" twice and was happy with his first shoot out performance in net.

"This is the direction we're going and we want to keep going this way. It's about leaving our best effort on the ice." Montoya told the media. He also told them he wasn't nervous for is first shoot out. This guy is cool, like the flip side of a pillow.

It would have been nice to get him the two points. It will also be nice to get him a contract for next season. Um, yeah.


Thanks to Nick6489, whom I had the pleasure of meeting tonight at the pre-game meetup. He was with Bob, whose cowbell you hear during almost every home game. I had no idea they have their own radio show, but they do. So here is my impromptu interview with Nick & Bob for HKCRadio.com.

Isles & a Wild "Homecoming"

While last night's loss was heartbreaking for Nate Lawson and the Islanders, there is no time to sit around and sulk. They've got a desperate team heading into their house and they need points more than the Isles do. They'll probably do anything to get them too.

While the Wild have their fair share of injuries, the Islanders lead the league in man games lost. That fact has put youngsters in the line-up without much NHL experience. That lack of experience is killer when facing teams like Washington as they did last night.

While I read that the key mistakes last night that lead to the (literally) last minute breakdown belonged to Michael Grabner in the final minute and Travis Hamonic in OT, I'd like to say one thing: Butch Goring made a point of saying that in the final minute of the game, Jack was going with four forwards and found that "aggressive." So, that goal at 47 seconds left I put on Jack's head. The overtime goal by Ovechkin was just the great 8 being the super player he is. (Not your fault Travis.)

Okay, Welcome Home Eric Nystrom who comes to town with the Wild who haven't seen the Islanders since they played them twice in 2009. The last time Eric was in the building was with Calgary. Now he is wearing a different sweater, but the memories are still the same.

Look for Al Montoya to be in net tonight (I would think!), but not sure if Radek Martinek who was listed as day-to-day is well enough to be in the line-up. Michael Haley is also expected out of the line-up as he was hit with a puck last night in the knee and is being evaluated today after not being able to continue playing in Washington.

Thanks to @IslesChick Lisa for posting that great photo on Twitter.

Also, here's a new Islanders related YouTube show by two of my best blogger buddies, JohnnyZ from Islanders Top Shelf and Brad Kurtzberg from Insidehockey.com. Give it a try.
If you're heading to the Coliseum tonight, make sure you stop at the Social Media desk at Doolin's and sign in and say Hi. Later!

Martin & Montoya = 1 Point in Philly

While I already did a post game report at HockeyBuzz.com, I couldn't help but write something this morning about the two "M's" that made the night even more enjoyable than just another game.

Matt Martin took a lot of flack in the press after the Friday Night Fight Night. Some of which he deserved, but most of which was not. Martin was a fan favorite in Bridgeport and that carried over to Long Island. He brings an energy and an entertainment value to the game that we haven't seen since Steve Webb. The 21-year-old Windsor ON native is 6th in the league in hits with 212. In 48 games he 103 PIMs.

But he is NOT a "knuckle-dragger" as I read him called in one article on the net. Knowing Matt for the last few years, that truly bothered me. So, last night, when Matt Martin showed that as Jack said, "he knows how to score goals." I smiled from ear to ear.

He scored the most important one when he tied the game with 27.1 seconds left in the third to take it to overtime. He had grabbed a puck out of mid-air, settled it down, and took the shot. I'm pretty sure no matter how many goals Matt Martin scores in his NHL career, that one will be very special. His two goals earned him the second star of the game. He deserved it.

Humble and a true team guy, he gave all credit to his team mates and to his assistant coach, Scott Allen, for all the help they have given him. Every game, he proves why he is a fan favorite.



The other "M" that impressed me last night was Al Montoya. Not only did Montoya make some excellent saves to keep the young Islanders in the game against the best team in the East, he won me over with his performance in the locker room.

For those who don't stick around to watch the post game interviews (I actually have to hold onto the remote to make sure my husband doesn't change the channel until the credits are rolling), then you missed Al Montoya proving he IS an Islander.

After giving his D credit for their hard work in a tough game, a reporter asked him how he felt about playing in such a beautiful building in front of a sold out crowd. Seeing that Al was not happy with the question, the reporter began to reword it -- worse. The more he spoke, the deeper he dug himself into a hole and the more annoyed Montoya seemed to get.

On the MSG broadcast, you couldn't hear all of the reporter's question, but Montoya's answer was "Who told you that?" and then when he had enough, he looked at the PR director to his right, smiled up at him and asked "Who is this guy?"

That was the end of that. Al Montoya, like P.A. Parenteau, is an ex-NY Ranger who has come to realize what being on the New York Islanders is all about. It's about FAMILY. And right now, there is a group of young men in that room that have twenty games left in this regular season. They have full intention of playing every one of them to the best of their ability -- for each other.

They're also playing them for us. And we should appreciate their effort.

#WhiteOutTheRed Saturday night. Wear white and come to Saturday's game against the Washington Capitals.