Panthers head coach Bob Boughner said he wants to see Montembeault go out on a high note.
"I'd love to see him play confident," Boughner said of his expectations for tonight. "He's a young guy and he's still figuring it out. I think he should be proud of himself for what he's done up until this point, coming in after being a pro for just a year and a half and getting thrown into the fire here in the NHL. He's responded. He's done really well. I'd like to see him finish that off tonight."
Roberto Luongo is expected to start Florida's season finale against New Jersey on Saturday.
With two games remaining on their schedule, the Panthers (36-32-12) have won each of their last three games, including consecutive victories over playoff-bound Washington and Boston. After another slow start, Florida has once again been playing its best hockey after the All-Star Break, boasting a 16-12-4 record, which is tied for the 11th-most points in the NHL in that span.
"Nothing has changed in the second half for us," Boughner said. "There's been games we've lost and some miserable spans of a couple games here and there, but every team goes through that. It's about where we're at since then. We've been a pretty solid team in the second half."
A big reason for the team's second-half surge has been the play of top-line forwards Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau. Dating back to Feb. 17, the dynamic duo has combined for 30 goals and 48 assists, including a league-leading 41 points (15 goals, 26 assists) from Barkov.
With a three-assist performance during Monday's 5-3 win over the Capitals, Barkov tied Pavel Bure's franchise record for the most points in a season (94). Jonathan Huberdeau, meanwhile, needs just one more point to give Florida its first-ever pair of 90-point players in the same year. Barkov (94) and Huberdeau (89) currently rank 10th and 14th, respectively, in NHL scoring.
"We're playing together, so when somebody gets a point, usually the other guy does, too," said Huberdeau, who has reached new career-highs in goals (28) and assists (61). "For Barky, it's great. It's a great milestone… Hopefully he can beat [Bure's record] in the next two games."
Huberdeau's 61 assists also currently stand as a single-season franchise record.
In addition to Barkov and Huberdeau, several other members of the Panthers are also currently building upon career-high point totals, including Mike Hoffman (69), Evgenii Dadonov (69), Keith Yandle (60) and Frank Vatrano (39). Hoffman also leads the team with a career-best 35 goals.
"We want to finish hard in front of our home fans," Boughner said. "We've played well in the last week and a half. We've got some guys with some career years and milestones on the line, and I'd like to see them hit that. But I think if you ask anyone in the dressing room, the guys that have been battling all year, they'd much rather be talking about a first-round playoff opponent."
Having already secured their place in the postseason, the Islanders (46-27-7) enter tonight's matchup with wins in four of their last six games. Led by the goaltending tandem of Thomas Greiss and Robin Lehner, they've surrendered a league-low 2.38 goals per game this season.
Up front, New York's offense is fueled by a quartet of 50-point players in Mathew Barzal (62), Josh Bailey (55), Brock Nelson (52) and Anders Lee (51). Meanwhile, Jordan Eberle, who's posted 37 points, has been on fire as of late, lighting the lamp in each of his last three games.
"They've had amazing goaltending," Boughner said when asked about New York's success this season. "I think that you've got to give a lot of credit to [Islanders coach] Barry Trotz. Coming over from Washington, he's brought a lot with him."
Florida has won each of its last four matchups against the Islanders, going 2-0-0 this season.
