Florida Panthers’ Al Montoya Thriving in Role as Backup Goalie

The Atlantic Division leading Florida Panthers beat the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 February 15th in overtime in a shootout with Jussi Jokinen scoring the game winner. Florida’s starting goalie, Roberto Luongo, had the night off and backup Al Montoya was sparkling with 31 saves.

Montoya, a 31 year old journeyman backup goalie who is with his fourth NHL team in seven partial or full seasons in the league, has been a solid contributor this season. With the victory, he is 9-4-1 on the year with a .929 save percentage and a 1.98 goals against average in 16 games (14 starts) this season. There’s been no dropoff when Luongo has a night off. In fact, Luongo has had a rough last couple of weeks, losing three of his last four starts. He’ll come out of the slump, but having an excellent backup in what is shaping up as Montoya’s best season is helping to keep the Panthers in first place.

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