Stefen Rosner on Morning Cuppa Hockey Talking Islanders NEW YORK, NY -- Ilya Sorokin is having one of the best starts of his NHL career. The New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/] backstop got consecutive starts for the first time this season, playing in their 4-3 win against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday and getting the nod for their game against the cross-town rival New York Rangers on Sunday. After the Rangers scored shorthanded at 3:44 of the first, with Sorokin having no shot to make the save, he made sure the Islanders' deficit didn't grow, robbing Rangers forward Reilly Smith at 4:17 of the first: Sorokin is playing like the goalie they envisioned when they inked him to an eight-year deal, not the goalie who struggled in 2023-24, the one who needed back surgery this summer.
