Stefen Rosner on Morning Cuppa Hockey Talking Islanders With the New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/] returning home after dropping four of five on their road trip, losers of three straight, they were in need of a big win at UBS Arena. And a win they got as Kyle Palmieri scored two goals, while Brock Nelson scored a goal and had two assists in a 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues: The only reason the Islanders were able to take a lead and add to it was because of the play of goaltender Ilya Sorokin. He stopped 24 of 25, which included stopping nine of 10 in a busy third period for his fifth win of the season and the 100th win of his NHL career. Although Sorokin has played well this season after undergoing offseason back surgery, it took him five starts since getting win No. 99 to accomplish the 100-win feat. He was 0-2-2 with a 3.25 GAA and a .902 SV% over his last four outings prior to Saturday night and, like the team, needed to raise his game if they were going to come out on top. "I've known about this, a little seed in my head the last couple of games," Sorokin said on the milestone. "It was a good result tonight but not perfect. I should work harder and be more helpful for our team." That's Sorokin for you, as he's never satisfied regardless of the result. The Blues threw a lot of pucks toward goal and had a handful of tremendous in-tight chances throughout the sixty-minute affair. With 38 seconds to play in the second period with the Islanders trying to enter the third period up 2-0, Sorokin robbed Blues forward Nathan Walker for his best save of the night: "I feel good tonight," Sorokin said. "I think we play smart game, and after they score that goal in third period, we continue to play our system and finish this game." Heading into Saturday's affair, Sorokin had been given just 2.25 goals of support. His team had two leads: a 2-1 lead on the Seattle Kraken in the third period and a 1-0 lead on the Detroit Red Wings in the third period. He and the Islanders both lost those games in regulation. So, when Noah Dobson scored to give the Islanders a 3-1 lead at 11:37 of the third period, you could feel the sigh of relief from the entire arena, a relief that was erased shortly after following a successful goaltender interference challenge by the Blues." "I said, 'h---- f---, not again],'" Sorokin said with a laugh. "No, please, no more again." One would think most Islanders were saying the same thing, given the team's struggles to score and hold down leads lately. But, with 37 seconds to play in the third, Sorokin watched Palmieri ice the game with an empty-net goal, securing the win and Sorokin's 100th. "[Sorokin just needs] 500 more for Marty Brodeur," Islanders head coach Patrick Roy joked when asked about Sorokin. "I feel like we were playing well in front of him. Yeah, we're making some mistakes here and there like every team does. But, I feel like when we do, he's doing a really nice job, making those key saves at the right moment. And tonight, fortunately for him, we scored enough goals to win the game. "It was nice to support him, but, I mean, good goaltenders, they find ways to make the guys comfortable, and I think that's what he did tonight." Sorokin is now 5-5-3, with a 2.52 GAA and a .917 SV% in 13 starts this season. His next win will tie him with Thomas Griess (101 wins) for fifth most in franchise history.
