Al Montoya

Laying Down The Hammer

March 19, 2012

I've had the pleasure of talking with Travis Hamonic several times throughout my years with the NYI Blog Box. I've actually been in touch with him since his days in the WHL, then with the Moose Jaw Warriors. If you read my interview with him when he was only 19 years old and still hoping to make it to the NHL, you would see that this kid had plenty to say before he was earning a professional paycheck.

Not much has changed with the one that everyone calls, "Hammer." He's just a kid living the dream that loves to play hockey. To be honest, judging from my time spent in the locker room, he is easily, if not the biggest heart and soul player they have on that team. He always wears his heart on his sleeve and is quick to defend his team on the ice, and with his words. I remember asking him once what "the problem" was with his team's play, and he was quick to turn that around and say there aren't any problems, just areas that went wrong that could be fixed. He bleeds orange and blue amongst the best of them.

It shows merit to the Islanders scouts and management, who have not only done a good job of drafting young talent, but finding character guys with leadership qualities as well. That's why Hamonic has become one of Snow's best draft moves in 2008.

Isles Fight Off Habs in Shootout, 3-2

March 18, 2012

Evan Pivnick

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The Islanders traveled to Montreal last night and finally came out with two points. After being winless in their last five games, the Islanders faced off against the 14th place Montreal Canadiens.

For the Canadiens, this season could have gone much smoother and produced a better result. They are a team that underachieved, especially them being a team that made it to the Stanley Cup playoffs for multiple seasons in a row.

Isles Minus Rolston & Mottau But Otherwise Stay The Same - And That's Okay

February 27, 2012

Rob McGowan

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Rick Nash won't be donning an Islanders jersey tomorrow night; the Islanders didn't get a first round pick for Evgeni Nabokov and/or P.A. Parenteau; Al Montoya will still be on the bench to back up the Islanders number one goaltender; and the defensive play of Mark Eaton, Milan Jurcina and Steve Staios will still be seen for the rest of the season.

Staios, despite popular reports from a fake twitter account, was not dealt to the Vancouver Canucks for a 6th round draft pick.

BUT Garth Snow did manage to rid himself of the putrid play of Brian Rolston and the defensive relapses of Mike Mottau. Both were sent packing to the Boston Bruins for a couple of prospects; Yanick Riendeau and Marc Cantin.

(Photo Credit: Robert Kowal/Flickr)

Islanders Take President’s Day Off Against Ottawa

February 20, 2012

John Link

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In a game that the Islanders needed to play extremely well and come out with a win, they just simply didn’t show up to play.

The Islanders came into the game needing a great game in order to stay in the playoff race. They started the game in the exact opposite fashion. Just 1:08 into the first period Erik Karlsson was able to sneak a shot in from behind the goal line on Kevin Poulin in order to take the lead. The goal was Karlsson 11th of the season and was unassisted. It didn’t get better for the Islanders as just under 30 seconds later Spezza was able to find the back of the net off a wrist shot from the slot. The goal was assisted by Foilgno and Neil and was the end of Kevin Poulin’s afternoon.

Al Montoya entered the game just 1:35 from the start. The period continued with the Islanders playing flat and uninspired hockey as the Senators were controlling the game. PA Parenteau had an extremely bad period as he took 2 different penalties but one unsportsmanlike conduct found him in the box for 12 minutes. The Senators weren’t able to convert on any of the penalties but just as one was ending Karlsson was able to find the back of the net for the second time in the period. At 14:03 he took a feed from the corner from Alfredsson and fired the shot in the back of the net giving Ottawa a 3-0 lead. The Senators were all over the Islanders in the first period as it ended with the Senators leading in shot 15 to 5.

Nabokov To Remain An Islander?

February 20, 2012

Rob McGowan

5 Comments

Per Arthur Staple of Newsday via Twitter: "Evgeni Nabokov's agent, Don Meehan, tells Newsday that contract talks with #Isles will likely start soon."

And the Twitter feeds went wild. Nabokov, who is currently sitting due to the flu, could possibly return in an Islanders sweater for the 2013 season. Who would have thought that this would be the case a year after Nabokov was claimed off of waivers by GM Garth Snow and then failed to report?

Nabby has a 14-14-0 record with a 2.24 GAA and a .925 save percentage. His stats are pretty solid for a goalie that has been playing on a team with a fragile defense and an offense that started off terribly and currently sits as the fourth worst team in scoring in the league. With the Islanders six points out of the playoffs, his ability to steal games, much like his 45 save shutout performance against the Philadelphia Flyers, has allowed Nabokov to become the main piece between the pipes for a late season playoff push. (Photo Credit: Robert Kowal/Flickr)

The Frightening Future Of The New York Islanders

February 15, 2012

Rob McGowan

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The New York Islanders future has always been uncertain when it's come to whether or not they will remain in Nassau County when the lease expires in 2015. Christian Arnold of Islanders Hockey Blog wrote an excellent piece since he was able to attend a public meeting at the Nassau County Legislature as a group of developers met to discuss the possibility of developing the hub in 2015, with or without the New York Islanders.

The Republicans have done their part to thwart owner Charles Wangs' efforts to get a new arena and the Democrats have thrown road blocks of their own, putting the Islanders in a position where Vince Polimeni of ABLI (A Better Long Island) has the upper hand in developing that giant parking lot into a place that doesn't contain an NHL hockey team. And Polimeni isn't the only one that has come to this realization; other developers have been drawing up their own proposals (Read Arnold's blog for more in-depth coverage).

2015 may be three years away, but it will be here a lot quicker than most may realize, regardless of your position on the topic. But 2013 is a lot closer, and the future of the Islanders success may get worse. (Photo Credit: clyedorama/Flickr)

Clawing Apart, Isles Lose 4-1 To Panthers

February 12, 2012

Rob McGowan

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The New York Islanders went into today's game looking to complete a back-to-back sweep on the weekend, taking a total of four points to increase their hopes of a playoff berth for the first time in a long time. But the Isles would end up losing 4-1 to the Florida Panthers, putting a dent into their never ending climb up the standings.

The loss keeps them eight points out of the playoffs; not an impossible number to climb, but one that seems to grow larger with every loss, especially against opponents like the Panthers who are looking to accomplish the same goal.

Frans Nielsen would get things started with an early goal assisted by P.A. Parenteau and Andrew MacDonald. Nielsen wisely cut across the neutral zone to be met by a perfect pass from Parenteau. He would then walk in and snipe one over Jose Theodore's glove to give his team the early lead. Despite the early goal, the Panthers would establish plenty of pressure in the Isles end of the ice and answer back towards the end of the period. (Photo Credit: Cassie Madonia/Flickr)

The Kings Visit Long Island for the Only Time This Season

February 11, 2012

John Link

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The LA Kings travel to Long Island this afternoon for their only match up of the season against the Islanders. Both teams are looking to rebound from losses in their last games. Last season these teams met twice splitting the series. Both teams seem to be making a strong late season push which makes for a good match up.

The Islanders need to rebound from a bad performance last time out against the Canadians and pull out a win. The Islanders will still be short on defense with Hamonic and Reese still out. Capuano also said to expect some changes to the D pairings from the last game. Capuano also stated that he might change the line-up spots for Parenteau and Okposo. This would re-unite the line of Moulson, Tavares, and Parenteau which had such strong success earlier in the season. The starting goalie is also being kept under wraps until closer to game time, I would expect Montoya to get a start but you never know with Capuano. The Islanders do play another game tomorrow so I would expect Nabokov and Montoya to split the two games.

.500 Will Have To Wait, Isles Fall To Sabres 4-3

February 5, 2012

Rob McGowan

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(Photo Credit: cincyhockey11/Flickr)

The New York Islanders went into last night's game looking to pull themselves to a .500 record but failed to do so, squandering a 3-1 first period lead to the Buffalo Sabres and losing by a score of 4-3 in the shootout.

Frans Nielsen would have a three point first period, scoring two goals and adding an assist to help get the Islanders to an early lead despite starting off slow. The Isles were out shot 17-9 in the first period and Al Montoya seemed a little shakey in net. It was only his second start after missing about a month's worth of playing time due to a concussion. His first start was before the All Star break, so it wasn't a surprise that he looked like he needed to shake the rust off. But he would respond well in the second and third periods, continuing to give his team a chance to win the whole night.

“We knew it was going to be a tough weekend,” said Montoya after the game. “[There were] huge points on the line. It’s unfortunate that we couldn’t come out with two points.”

Islanders look to continue playoff push with a visit to Ottawa

February 2, 2012

John Link

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The Islanders look to build off their win from earlier in the week and start a second half playoff push with a game against Ottawa tomorrow night. The Islanders are currently riding a hot streak getting 5 out of a possible 6 points in the last 3 games. This has the Islanders only 9 points out of playoff spot with plenty of time left in the season.

A couple of the sparks in the Islanders last win were the Bridgeport call ups of Kevin Poulin and Rhett Rakhshani. Poulin made his contribution playing a great game between the pipes, which showed many fans why he is considered the goaltender of the future. Rakhshani was a great move in my eyes as he was a spark plug on a line with Matt Martin and Josh Bailey. The whole game the line was buzzing around the ice and creating chances. Hopefully they will get another chance in Ottawa to keep showing that they are improving their chances and create more secondary scoring which is what this team needs.