5 BOROUGH SPORTS

Like I’ve said before, I couldn’t be more proud of this Islanders team. There’s almost a zero percent chance the Isles will make the playoffs this season (ten points behind the eight seed with 13 games to go), but this doesn’t mean they’ve stopped playing hard. Last night’s game was a prime example of the Isles’ incredible effort down the stretch. Since December 16, they are tied with the Bruins with the most points in the league. Wow! Can you believe it? Who knew after losing 20 of 21 games in the fall, the Isles would all of a sudden become one of the best teams in the NHL? Going back to the All-Star Break, I had certain expectations for this team headed into the final two months. I expected the Isles to go 18-12-3 down the stretch. So far, they’ve exceeded my expectations winning 12 of 17 games.

The Former Michigan Wolverine is Excelling on the Island

No one has been playing better than goaltender Al Montoya. What a great pickup by my man Garth! After looking up Al’s history, it’s surprising that it’s taken him this long to become an NHL starter. After being drafted by the Rangers in 2004, Montoya was locked in the AHL after the emergence of Sir Henrik Lundqvist. In ’08, he was traded to the Coyotes where he was stuck behind Ilya Bryzgalov. So when Snow acquired the guy, he was bringing in a goaltender who hasn’t been given an opportunity his entire career. The Isles better keep Montoya after this season. Consistent goaltending doesn’t come around the island too often. O yeah, and Nabakov who? Glad he didn’t want to report. Hope he’s having fun on the couch while the Isles stay hot.

It’s sad, but I’m more proud of the Islanders than the playoff-bound Knicks. Even though the Isles likely won’t be playing any hockey come late April, they’ve been playing with twice as much heart than the complacent Knickerbockers. All I’ve asked the Islanders for this year was a fun season to watch. In these last two months, I’ve had a blast watching Islanders hockey. The Isles head to the Rock tonight to take on the Devils at 7pm. Keep up the good work.

Click here for last night’s game highlights vs. Boston.

This entry was posted on March 12, 2011 at 12:03 pm and is filed under Islanders. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.