Ilya Sorokin delivered a vintage performance, stopping all 35 shots he faced to record his NHL-leading fifth shutout of the season as the New York Islanders edged the Edmonton Oilers 1-0 on Thursday night at Rogers Place. Sorokin was sharp from the opening faceoff, tracking pucks cleanly through traffic and calmly handling Edmonton's relentless pressure. When he wasn't the difference, the goalposts helped - ringing twice on Oilers chances in a scoreless game that felt like it was waiting for one mistake to decide it.
Home cooking clearly is not agreeing with the New York Islanders, who lost for the fourth time in five games amid this seven-game homestand with a 4-1 result against the Washington Capitals on Sunday afternoon at UBS Arena. Tom Wilson scored twice and added an assist for the visitors, while the Islanders (13-10-3, 29 points) were stymied by Capitals goalie Logan Thompson, who made 30 saves.
When Semyon Varlamov went down with an injury in late November, forcing him to miss the remainder of the season, the NY Islanders were missing part of their two-headed monster in the crease, obliging Ilya Sorokin to take on the lion's share of starts. With training camp beginning tomorrow and Varlamov undergoing knee surgery in December, Head Coach Patrick Roy and the Islanders are still uncertain of their netminder's status heading into camp.
In what many described as a "down year," Sorokin still turned in numbers that most NHL teams would envy. The 30-year-old appeared in 61 games, starting 60, and finished with a 30-24-6 record, 2.71 goals-against average, .907 save percentage, and four shutouts. He ranked 10th in the NHL in wins and tied for seventh in shutouts, proving he remained a steady force in net even when the Islanders struggled defensively.
