Panthers' Montoya struggled to find rhythm as Luongo's backup
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."
An introduction famously penned by writer Charles Dickens in his classic novel "A Tale of Two Cities" and a fitting way to describe the season of Florida Panthers backup goaltender Al Montoya.
In his first year with the Panthers, the veteran netminder's performances flip-flopped between spectacular and abysmal on game-by-game basis while rarely resembling anything in between.
The NHL's first Cuban-American player, Montoya, nicknamed "The Big Cubano", posted a 6-7-2 record with a 3.01 goal-against average and a career-low .892 save percentage in 20 games (13 starts).
"I always felt like I could give this team a chance to win," Montoya said shortly before his season wrapped up in April. "There were some games that we were in that I thought I helped keep this team in and other times that I could have been better."
After losing faith in their incumbent backup, Dan Ellis, the Panthers made it a priority to bring in Montoya last offseason to stabilize their goaltending situation by adding reliable netminder behind starter Roberto Luongo.
Out of the gate, Montoya showed promise and looked to be every bit the player the Panthers had expected they were getting. He won two of his first four starts and earned first-star honors when he led the Panthers to a 1-0 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Nov. 11 in relief of an injured Luongo.
As time went on, however, the 30-year-old began to cool off.
With Luongo rarely taking a night off, Montoya struggled to find his rhythm as he was often left riding the bench for weeks in between appearances. Adjusting to this sporadic schedule was admittedly difficult for Montoya, who started the second-fewest games of his career.
He allowed four-or-more goals in five separate appearances after the month of November and sustained a serious groin injury against the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 3 that kept him out of the lineup for nearly a month.
"It was a learning process for me," said Montoya, who started 22 games in his final season with Winnipeg. "This was something new, even though I've backed up before. (Luongo) had a heck of a season, so it was just watching him play, watching him go every single night and then just trying to be prepared for the nights that I did get in there.
"I definitely learned a lot this year from what I did and what I didn't do."
WHAT HE DID RIGHT
Aside from a few lopsided losses, Montoya proved to be a capable backup when his number was called. More often than not, he put the Panthers in a position to win in games in which he started, allowing two-or-fewer goals in seven of his 13 starts. He was a welcome addition to the Panthers lighthearted locker room and happily embraced his diminished role behind Luongo.
WHERE HE NEEDS TO IMPROVE
In games in which Luongo was pulled or left due to injury, Montoya struggled to stop the bleeding when called upon. He posted a .886 save percentage in seven relief appearances and managed to salvage a win in only one of those contests. While he was often placed in an unenviable position, a stronger performance in a few of these games could have helped spark a come-from-behind victory on more than one occasion.
BEST GAME
April 11 vs. New Jersey. Montoya returned from lengthy stint on injured reserve to help lead the Panthers to a 3-2 victory over the Devils in the final game of the regular season. In his first game since sustaining a serious groin injury, Montoya stopped 31 of 33 shots and looked sharp throughout the night. He was honored as the second star of the game and played a pivotal role in helping Florida cross the 90-point plateau for just the third time in its last 14 seasons.
"This team worked hard in front of me," Montoya said after earning his first victory since March 1 against Tampa Bay. "I wanted to give them a chance to win and they gave me that chance."
SAVE OF THE YEAR
LOOKING AHEAD
Montoya has one year remaining on a two-year, $2.1 million contract he signed with the Panthers as a free agent last summer. Although there will be several intriguing backup goaltenders available in free agency this offseason, including Jhonas Enroth and Michal Neuvirth, it's very likely that Montoya will be back between the pipes for the Panthers next season. In the mean time, he plans to spend the majority of his offseason training in his native Chicago.
You can follow Jameson Olive on Twitter @JamesonCoop or email him at JamesonOlive@gmail.com.
