LONG ISLAND | Jeff Gorton jokingly said so in a crowded elevator between the press catwalk and ice level at UBS Arena. “It’s the return of the Hamburglar”.
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The Hamburglar is Andrew Hammond, a goaltender who revived the Ottawa Senators during the 2014-2015 season. That year, he maintained an incredible record of 20 wins, one loss and two overtime losses to lead his team into the playoffs. From a perfect stranger, he had become the darling of the national capital.
Hammond had the effect of a shooting star in the NHL. Sunday afternoon at the brand new Islanders home, the 34-year-old goaltender put on his leggings for the first time since April 22, 2018. There were exactly 1,400 days between his last start in the playoffs with the Colorado Avalanche and that game on Long Island.
Nearly ten days after acquiring the Minnesota Wild to return Cayden Primeau to the Laval Rocket, Hammond posted a 3-2 shootout win over the Islanders in his first game with his new team.
“I’ve said it before, I’m happy to be here,” said the BC native. But I always believed that I could play in the NHL. I hadn’t kept track of my waiting period. It’s a bit like riding a bicycle. The pace is a little faster, but it doesn’t get lost. »
Foiled by Anthony Beauvillier early in the shootout, Hammond then shut the door on Mathew Barzal and Brock Nelson. He blocked 30 of the Islanders’ 32 shots for his 28th career NHL victory.
Two wins
Martin St-Louis has insisted on an important notion since he took over from Dominique Ducharme on February 9th. His goal was to bring back smiles and fun in this season of misery.
After five games, we can say that he is on the right track. In the 50th game of the year, the Habs won a second game in a row for the first time this season.
“There’s good energy right now,” said defender Ben Chiarot. Marty has energized the team, we are having fun. »
What we noticed…
Pitlick’s hands
Rem Pitlick had never participated in a shootout in the NHL. He broke the ice against the Islanders. And he did it in a nice way. He scored the winning goal by pulling out a quick fake to strip goalkeeper Ilya Sorokin. Before him, Cole Caufield had also hit the mark. “I was nervous,” admitted Pitlick. We want to win our games, we have fun with Marty. I was happy to see the puck in the net. »
Caufield’s Plumb
There are now five games under Martin St-Louis. He hasn’t played five perfect games, but Cole Caufield is really regaining his confidence. It reads on the score sheet with five points (4 goals, 1 assist), but it is not calculated solely by goals and assists. At five against five, Caufield played very well alongside Nick Suzuki and Josh
Anderson. They were the most threatening trio. On the power play, number 22 also fired good shots even though he didn’t beat Sorokin.
Under the gaze of Joe Sakic
There was a choice visitor on the press catwalk of the UBS Center. Colorado Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic made the trip to watch the game. Sakic was on hand for Ben Chiarot’s return to action after a short two-game absence. Chiarot had a good match with Alexander Romanov. He finished with a playing time of 23:48 and a +1 differential. In the Islanders’ camp, winger Cal Clutterbuck could also be of interest to the Avalanche. Like Chiarot, Clutterbuck is likely to become an unrestricted free agent in July.
Better and better
Jeff Petry played horrible games, especially during the last days of Ducharme’s reign. The 34-year-old defender has come back up recently, a bit like his team. Against the Islanders, he scored the first goal of the game by shooting from the point.
+
Josh Anderson
Anderson scored his 10th goal of the year by finding a tiny hole He also came to Caufield’s defense after a big hit from Clutterbuck
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Mathew Barzal
Barzal has a crazy talent and a formidable skate In overtime, the number 13 of the Islanders, however, opted too much for lace instead of simplicity
First period
1-Mon: Jeff Petry (3)
(Kulak, Poehling)9:01
Penalties: Martin (NYI) 2:38, Anderson (Mon) 11:17, Dauphin (Mon) 18:36, Evans (Mon) 20:00
Second period
2-NYI: Kyle Palmieri (4)
(Parise, Bailey)AN-1:29
3-Mon: Josh Anderson (10)
(Suzuki, Caufield)18:49
Penalties: Clague (Mon) 12:07, Aho (NYI) 14:50
Third period
4-NYI: Brock Nelson (17)
(Bellows, Aho)17:03
Punishments: No punishment
Extension
No goal
Punishments: No punishment
Shooting
Montreal wins 2-1Montreal (2): Caufield (goal), Pitlick (goal) NY Islanders (1): Beauvillier (goal), Barzal (miss), Nelson (miss)
Shoot to the net
Montreal 13 – 5 – 6 – 3 – 27 NY Islanders 10 – 12 – 9 – 1 – 32
Guardians:
Mon: Andrew Hammond (G, 1-0-0) NYI: Ilya Sorokin (PP, 15-11-6)
Numerical advantages:
Mon: 0 in 2, NYI: 1 in 4
Referees:
Brandon Schrader, Garrett Rank
Linesmen:
Michel Cormier, James Tobias
ASSISTANCE:
17,255