Islanders' Ilya Sorokin makes clutch saves in third period
Oliver Wahlstrom of the Islanders skates during the first period against the Flyers at UBS Arena on Jan. 25. Credit: Jim McIsaac
SEATTLE — The final score looked lopsided and the game certainly was for the first 30 minutes. But it stayed that way only because Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin was so good in the third period.
Sorokin made nine of his 23 saves in the final 20 minutes as the Islanders topped the expansion Kraken, 5-2, on Tuesday night at Climate Pledge Arena.
"He was awesome," Zach Parise said. "We came out and had a really good start, something we’ve put a lot of emphasis on. It was 4-2 when he made that huge save. It could have really gotten their crowd really into it. Got [the Kraken] pretty excited. But to keep it at 4-2 and make those big saves that he did win."
Sorokin robbed Morgan Geekie at the crease with an acrobatic save at 4:31 of the third period, just under three minutes after the Kraken closed to two goals. He followed by denying defenseman Adam Larsson on a two-on-one with the teams skating four-on-four at 8:28. He also kicked away Calle Jarnkrok’s dangerous shot at 15:21.
"He was really huge," coach Barry Trotz said. "It was probably a difficult game for him because he didn’t have a lot of work for the first 30 minutes and the last 20 or so we gave him a lot of work. Goaltending is all about key saves at key times and we got that tonight."
Isles files
Brock Nelson has a three-game goal streak ... Oliver Wahlstrom (upper body) missed his second straight game for precautionary reasons despite participating fully in Tuesday’s morning skate and Monday’s optional practice. "I want to make sure he’s 100%," said Trotz, who is hopeful Wahlstrom will play Thursday in San Jose ... Defenseman Andy Greene remained a healthy scratch for a fourth straight game in favor of Sebastian Aho.
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.
