Al Montoya

During the second intermission, MSG's Peter Ruttgaizer asked Islanders assistant coach Doug Weight what he wanted in the third period and Weight responded, "two goals."

The request was granted, and then some!

The New York Islanders were active on the first day of free agency when they signed Brad Boyes, Matt Carkner, and Eric Boulton, but the team has lost a couple of players that Islanders fans have grown to know over the past NHL seasons. (Clydeorama/Flickr)

While P.A Parenteau signed on with the Colorado Avalanche, the Winnipeg Jets and Al Montoya came to terms on a one year deal worth $601,000. Montoya's departure might have upset some fans that grew accustomed to the goalie as he put up impressive numbers in 21 games during the Isles' 2010-2011 NHL season. However, injury and inconsistency plagued Montoya during the 2011-2012 NHL season as he performed to the tune of a 9-11-5 record, 3.11 GAA, and .893 Save Percentage.

After allowing seven goals in an onslaught of a hockey game, the final buzzer at the Nationwide Arena would not only sound the ending of a massacre, but also signify the end of what was a disappointing season for the New York Islanders.

It was a disappointing year for many reasons. With the rebuild entering its fourth season, many expected this team's fortunes to change. For plenty, that meant making the playoffs instead of falling into the draft lottery. For yours truly, that meant climbing out of the cellar but not high enough to reach 8th place. I am sad to say that we were both wrong. The Islanders finished the year out of the playoffs and 27th overall in the league, giving them the fourth overall pick going into Tuesday night's draft lottery for the second year in a row.

On paper you can call the 2012 season just the same as any other. At 14th place in the Eastern Conference, the Isles finished the season with a 34-37-11 record with 79 points. That's only a six point improvement over last season and the SAME exact record as the year before that in 2010. It would almost appear that the rebuild has established a trend of not going up or down, but rather staying put.

When it rains, it pours; that has been the mantra of the New York Islanders this weekend. Yesterday the Isles let up six goals in a loss to the Boston Bruins that mathematically eliminated themselves from playoff contention. Today, they continued their struggling ways in a 5-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators, who were without both Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson.

"It was pretty horrible on our part. They were missing two of their top players and we couldn't take advantage of it. The way we played, we didn't deserve to win, that's for sure," said Islanders captain Mark Streit after the game. He would be the only Islander to be credited with a goal tonight with a John Tavares pass going off of his skate and behind Senators net-minder Craig Anderson.