Islanders Goaltender Ilya Sorokin Named NHL's 1st Star Of The Week

Sorokin is undefeated in his last six starts.

New York Islanders netminder Ilya Sorokin has been playing an incredible brand of hockey lately. 

Over his last six starts, the 29-year-old is 6-0-0, with a 1.19 GAA, a .953 SV%, and one shutout. 

On Monday, the NHL named him their first start of the week for the first time in his NHL career. 

He stopped 30 of 32 in a 5-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche and stopped all 23 that came his way in a 3-0 shutout victory over the Philadelphia Flyers before he concluded his week stopping 28 of 30 in a 3-2 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. 

It's almost as if he needed some time to get back to his dominant game just a handful of months after undergoing off-season back surgery.

Sorokin is also showing just how good he can be when the team plays a few ticks better in front of him.

"He's been outstanding," Islanders head coach Patrick Roy said. "I just love the way he's playing. I said to Soro the other day. I said, 'You know when I love my backup the most? When they're sitting on the bench.' It's a world where you have to compete. That's not because you're there but because you are there and you want to stay there.

"It's nice to have Varly or Marcus (Hogberg) or even Skarek. These guys want to play. They want ice time. And it's the same thing for [Ilya]. I love the way he's playing because he's competing in the net. He's beating those passes. So, I'm so happy for him. He deserved what he got because he's been one of our better players."

On the season, Sorokin is 19-14-4, with a 2.63 GAA and a .908 SV%. 

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