The New York Islanders don’t need a reminder that Ilya Sorokin has been holding things together. The four-game skid has made that plain enough.
Even while the team has struggled through injuries and a rough stretch, Sorokin has kept the Islanders in games. That has become a familiar theme over the last five seasons, with the goalie establishing himself as one of the NHL’s top netminders and one of the biggest reasons New York has remained in the playoff conversation year after year.
Sorokin already had a real shot at the Vezina Award last season. He was one of the three finalists after finishing with a 29-24-2 record, a 2.68 goals-against average, a .906 save percentage, seven shutouts, and the league lead in high-danger saves. Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy ultimately won the award.
This season, Sorokin has again been the clear bright spot in the Islanders’ goaltending picture. New York ranks 10th in the league with a 2.94 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage overall, but Sorokin has been better than that team number. He has started 12 of the Islanders’ first 17 games and owns a 2.57 goals-against average, a .914 save percentage and one shutout.
Part of what makes his work so valuable is the workload. The NHL lists the Islanders at 29.41 shots allowed per game, which is around the league average, but still plenty for a goalie to absorb over a full season.
That pressure has only increased during the current slide. Over the four-game losing streak, the Islanders have surrendered 155 shots in total, including 50 in a 5-4 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils and 41 in a 3-2 shootout loss to the San Jose Sharks. Sorokin started three of those four games and made 105 saves in that span.
If the defense can start giving him more support, the Islanders’ results could look very different. The multi-goal leads that have slipped away could become wins, and that would give New York a better chance to build momentum and push toward the playoffs.
For Sorokin, the path is simple enough: keep doing what he’s been doing, and the Vezina conversation will follow.
In Other News...
Islanders Could Hand Mat Barzal The Finisher Hes Been Missing
Matvei Michkovs situation in Philadelphia has become one of the more intriguing loose threads in the early season, and it has obvious appeal for the Islanders if the Flyers ever decide to listen. The 2023 seventh overall pick has already been linked to uncertainty about his future with the club, and with Philadelphia off to a rough start amid internal issues, the chatter around a possible move has only grown louder.
From the Islanders perspective, the fit is easy to imagine. A player with Michkovs skill set would add another layer to a roster that has often leaned on structure and patience, and he could give Mat Barzal the kind of finishing touch that has been missing at times. Nothing is official, of course, but the idea alone is enough to make this one worth watching if the Flyers keep drifting and the Islanders decide they want to get aggressive. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Get Needed Help Back As Bigger Problems Still Loom
Matias Maccelli and defenseman Ryan Pulock were set to rejoin the Islanders for a matchup with the Kings, giving a banged-up roster a little more of the depth it has been missing. With Mathew Barzal also expected back soon, the timing matters for a team that has been trying to steady itself through a rough stretch in which injuries have played a part and the lineup has been forced to shuffle.
The returns offer a welcome lift, but they do not erase the larger issues that have been hanging over the club. The Islanders still have to sort out defensive lapses and a power play that has not delivered enough, so even with key pieces coming back, the next step is proving the team can turn healthier bodies into better results. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Home Slide Is Starting To Raise Bigger Questions
Matthew Schaefer gave the Islanders an early lift with the go-ahead power-play goal in the first period, and New York kept control from there in a 5-2 win over the Kings. Ilya Sorokin backed it up with 26 saves, while Darcy Kuemper faced a steady stream of chances at the other end as the Islanders picked up a needed result and moved to 8-6-4.
For Los Angeles, the loss only added to an uneasy stretch and left more questions hanging around a team that has struggled to find traction. The Kings slipped to 5-10-2, and even with Kuemper in net and some pushback along the way, the margin for error keeps shrinking as the home slide continues to deepen. [Read more 🡒]