Islanders top Lightning for third straight win as Ilya Sorokin ties Chico Resch's club mark with 25th shutout

TAMPA, Fla. — Ilya Sorokin was as quick to deflect the credit as he was in turning aside shots.

His 32 saves and rookie Cal Ritchie’s between-the-legs power-play goal in the third period helped the Islanders to a gutsy 2-0 win over the Lightning on Saturday night at Benchmark International Arena.

DID YOU SEE THAT?!? 👁️👁️ pic.twitter.com/c9sIxmiT3N

— NHL (@NHL) December 7, 2025

The #Isles dads and mentors were loving that Ritchie goal! pic.twitter.com/vfY0FZl2fm

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) December 7, 2025

Sorokin matched Chico Resch’s franchise record with his 25th career shutout.

“It’s not my achievement,” said Sorokin, in his sixth season with the Islanders. “The guys help me a lot. Without them, I do nothing.”

Sorokin then was asked about knowing his name is in the Islanders’ record book.

“I’m really not focused on this,” he said. “Maybe after my career I’ll sit and say, ‘Wow, it’s great.’ Today I’m living in the moment and not looking at big things.”

The Islanders (16-10-3), opening a back-to-back Florida swing, won their third straight, including their second over the Atlantic Division-leading Lightning (16-10-2) in five days. The teams will meet for a third and final time this coming Saturday at UBS Arena.

It pushed the Islanders into third place in the Metropolitan Division, two points behind the first-place Capitals.

Maybe it wasn’t as impressive a team performance as Thursday’s 6-3 win over the NHL-best Avalanche, but Sorokin kept the Lightning off the board long enough for the Islanders to shake off a sloppy first period and finally score.

That included making five saves on two second-period penalty kills and one more as the Islanders’ five-on-six unit did yeoman work after Jonas Johansson (17 saves) was pulled for an extra skater at 16:44 of the third period.

“It wasn’t the prettiest, especially that first period,” said Casey Cizikas, who clinched it with an empty-netter with 1.6 seconds remaining. “We turned the puck over too much in the neutral zone. That’s where they had those counters. That’s where they had those opportunities. I thought we did a good job of cleaning it up after that.

“But if it wasn’t for Sorokie, we would have never had a shot tonight.”

Cizikas logged 14:04 and continued to provide a strong defensive presence centering the fourth line. It’s something that was missing from his game for nearly the first month of the season.

“We had a good conversation in New York before the Rangers game,” coach Patrick Roy said of the Islanders’ 5-0 win at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 8. “And I have to say he’s been playing like, wow, outstanding hockey. He’s got his energy going. He’s making the right decisions. On that line, he’s bringing that experience and that calmness.”

Cizikas drew a four-minute high-sticking penalty against Brandon Hagel at 10:14 of the third period that led to Ritchie’s winner. The Lightning, particularly coach Jon Cooper, were angry at the call because they believed the Islanders’ Kyle MacLean had held Hagel’s stick.

Ritchie went between his legs and lifted a shot at the left post at 12:46 to make it 1-0.

He said he does not make a habit of trying that shot, and Roy said he did not know he had that move in his arsenal.

“No, but I was happy it did work,” Roy said.

“We’re just really confident in this room,” said Ritchie, who has three goals and two assists in 19 games. “We went into the third period and we had full confidence in our group that we were going to win the game. That’s what good teams have.”

Until that point, the Lightning had the more dangerous chances, with Sorokin stuffing Anthony Cirelli’s chance at the right post at 11:46 of the second period, sliding to his left to stop Hagel at 13:10 of the second period and also denying Hagel at the crease 18 seconds later.

“He was outstanding from the start of the game,” said Roy, a Hall of Fame goalie. “You know what I love? He makes it look pretty easy, and that’s great goaltending.”