New York Islanders netminder Ilya Sorokin has been dialed in to start the season. Despite allowing five goals Friday night, he was brilliant with two ridiculous saves.
New York Islanders netminder Ilya Sorokin has been dialed in to start the season.
Through the first two games of the season, the 28-year-old had allowed just two total goals, shutting the Arizona Coyotes out Tuesday night and stopping all 17 that came his way.
While the New Jersey Devils found a way to pot five goals past Sorokin, four of which came on the power play, and one came on a screened shot in overtime.
That stat line may show a .871 SV%, but Sorokin was brilliant, and the reason the Islanders earned a point in a game they have zero business coming away with any, given their lack of discipline.
His jaw-dropping save on Devils forward Jack Hughes is an early candidate for save of the year:
The fans at UBS Arena and Hughes couldn't believe what they witnessed as the Islanders remained in front 1-0.
Let's break this thing down frame by frame:
While Hughes makes his dekes, you can see that Sorokin's body moves, but his eyes never come off the puck. And that's why he's able to track the backhand into his glove.
Besides dropping into the butterfly, Sorokin never fully commits, as many goalies would have slid to the blocker slide, falling for that first move.
His ability to stay in the center of the net was a game-changer on this one.
After the game, The Hockey News asked Sorokin to take them through this highlight. But, given the competitor that the Russian goalie is, he wasn't thinking of that save.
"I just remember Hughes goal in overtime," Sorokin said.
Sorokin made an extraordinary pad save on Jesper Bratt shortly after the Hughes glove save, kicking out the left pad point-blank.
Although it will be hard for Sorokin to top that wicked glove save, he made another incredible one in the second period, denying Nate Bastian's prime scoring chance.
With bodies in front, this save was almost as impressive as the first one, and here's why.
Yes, if Basitan lifts the puck a few more inches, it's in the back of the net, but what was seen from Sorokin on this was clear anticipation, reading how the play was likely to develop.
Knowing that the glove side of the net was exposed, given his positioning after the blocked shot, Sorokin shared post-game that he just pushed off from post to post but never saw the shot.
This save kept the game tied at 3-3 late in the second period.
Sorokin ended his night stopping all 28 saves he faced at five-on-five play, including nine high-danger shots, per NaturalStatrick.com.
His Expected Goals Against on those 29 shots was 1.98, but as mentioned, he allowed zero.
Sorokin was second in the NHL in 2022-23 with a Goals Saved Above Average of 23.42 at five-on-five. He is off to another strong start in that category at 3.30, only trailing Arizona Coyotes netminder Karel Vejmelka, who sits at 3.88.
“We talk about him (Sorokin) all the time, about how many saves he makes,” Brock Nelson said. “Tonight was more than we'd like in terms of quantity and quality and highlight reel, but it's just a guy who goes out there, lays it out on the line, is a gamer, and gives us a chance every night even when maybe we aren't at our best.”
Sorokin will back up Semyon Varlamov Saturday night when the Islanders face the Buffalo Sabres.