Islanders can't keep wasting Ilya Sorokin's great nights in net
Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin against the Edmonton Oilers at UBS Arena on Oct. 31, 2026. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
LOS ANGELES – There’s a particular emptiness the rest of a hockey team feels after wasting their goalie’s outstanding performance.
It’s a double-sized hole right now for the Islanders, who managed just two points out of Ilya Sorokin’s two best outings of the season.
Among the Islanders’ issues through this 0-2-2 slide they will try to snap on Thursday against the Kings, is not bailing out their goalie who bailed them out repeatedly in the last two matches through failed attempts to finish scoring opportunities or taking too many penalties. It is a major problem.
“He was phenomenal,” captain Bo Horvat told Newsday. “He’s the best goalie in the league for a reason and we’re lucky to have him. He brought us to get a point the last couple of games and he deserved better than what we gave him.”
Sorokin made 39 saves in a 3-2 eight-round shootout loss to the Sharks that opened this three-game California swing on Monday night. The Islanders concluded an 0-2-1 homestand by failing to protect a two-goal lead in the third period of a 5-4 overtime loss to the Devils on Saturday night at UBS Arena as Sorokin was forced to make a season-high 45 saves. The Devils held an 81-44 edge in total chances.
“We’ve gotten points because he’s been our best player the last two nights,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “But you don’t want to waste those performances.”
According to MoneyPuck.com, it left Sorokin eighth among NHL goalies with a goals saved above expected of plus-7.3.
“Those are just games we’ve got to learn how to close out,” defenseman Logan Stanley told Newsday. “You’re going to be in tight games all year in the third period. It comes back to playing connected as five guys. When we’re doing that all over the ice with our forecheck, in the defensive zone, then we look good.”
Overall, Sorokin is 6-4-2 with a 2.57 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. The team did not practice on Wednesday but indications from Tuesday’s skate in San Jose was that Sorokin would get a third straight start.
Last season, Sorokin finished second in balloting for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goalie with a 29-24-2 mark, a 2.68 GAA and .906 save percentage as the Islanders missed the playoffs for the second straight season. He led the league in high-danger saves with 452 and a .864 high-danger save percentage.
He also finished second in Vezina voting in 2023, yet the Islanders have not won a playoff round since 2021.
It’s a compelling argument that the Islanders are squandering the peak seasons of the 31-year-old Sorokin’s career.
The flip side is Sorokin has much more to come in his career. He’s not an old goalie by any means and he’s in the third season of an eight-year, $66 million deal. General manager Mathieu Darche has time to construct a stronger roster in front of Sorokin.
All of this – the concern over where the Islanders are going while he’s in his prime, the failure to convert his strong performances to more points – is white noise to the even-keel Sorokin.
In a private chat with Newsday following Tuesday’s practice, Sorokin was matter-of-fact with how well he is tracking pucks through traffic and controlling his rebounds while anticipating the backdoor feeds and cross-ice passes with aplomb.
“I feel like always, nothing special,” Sorokin said. “I just play period by period and try to do what I can do.”
Sorokin did acknowledge he preferred facing fewer shots than he has over his last two starts, though he did not discount the theory that the more shots he sees, the better rhythm he can achieve.
“You’re always in shape,” Sorokin said. “When you have a lot of shots, you’re always in the game. For me, I like it when it’s less shots, like 15 or 17 for the game.
“But you should play. You never can choose what type of game it is and you should be ready for everything. But, yeah, maybe I feel a little better, maybe a little more confident when I have more shots.”
Sorokin can – and should – be confident in his play right now.
It’s his teammates who must do a better job of capitalizing on these types of stellar performances.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
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