Islanders' Ilya Sorokin will start Monday against Blue Jackets

Ilya Sorokin #30 of the New York Islanders makes a save during the second period against the Philadelphia Flyers at UBS Arena on Thursday, Jan 16, 2025 in Elmont, New York. Credit: Jim McIsaac
There was no hesitation.
Ilya Sorokin exited the ice first as the Islanders practiced on Sunday at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow. Minutes later, coach Patrick Roy confirmed that Sorokin will be in goal for Monday night’s important-to-win-in-regulation match against the Blue Jackets at UBS Arena in the fourth of a seven-game homestand.
So there’s no goalie question even after feel-good story Marcus Hogberg, back in the NHL after three seasons playing at home in Sweden, won for the second time in four starts, making 18 saves in Saturday night’s 4-1 victory over the hapless Sharks.
It was Hogberg’s third start in four games. Unlike the previous two, Sorokin was fully healthy and available to play on Saturday. Sorokin made 19 saves in Thursday’s brutal 5-3 loss to the Flyers. His previous game was a 30-save shutout in a 4-0 win in Las Vegas on Jan. 9.
“He had a really good game against Vegas,” Roy said. “Unfortunately, he got sick, and sometimes it takes a little more time. I’m confident that Ilya is going to have a strong game [Monday].”
Roy said he had no update on Semyon Varlamov (lower body/long-term injured reserve), who has not played since Nov. 29. President/general manager Lou Lamoriello said on Jan. 10 in Salt Lake City that he expected Varlamov to resume practicing with the team once the Islanders returned to New York.
He has not. But Hogberg’s play across six appearances since being brought up from the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport has given Roy the confidence to use him without hesitation.
Which is not to say Roy faced a tough decision on whom to start against the Blue Jackets, who are on a 10-2-2 run despite Saturday’s 1-0 shootout loss to the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. The Islanders are eight points behind the Blue Jackets for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot.
“No, it just brings the confidence that you have two very good goalies,” Roy said. “I won’t lie. At the beginning, I was a little nervous to put [Hogberg] in. When he played his first game in Pittsburgh [a 3-2 loss on Dec. 29], I thought he played very well. Last night, he was good again. That’s how you build trust and confidence for any coaches.”
Hogberg is 2-2-0 with a 1.32 goals-against average and a .952 save percentage. Only Barclay Goodrow’s unscreened shot from the right wall that beat Hogberg over the blocker in Saturday’s second period counts as a bad one among the six he’s allowed as an Islander.
“He’s just so solid,” Anders Lee said of the 6-5, 234-pound Hogberg. “That’s a big boy back there. He’s calm in the net and I think that’s contagious, that type of play.”
Notes & quotes: Defenseman Alexander Romanov did not practice on Sunday after making an impactful return in Saturday’s win following a three-game absence because of an upper-body injury. The Islanders termed it a maintenance day and Roy said he expects Romanov to play against the Blue Jackets.
More Islanders



