Difference Between Varlamov & Sorokin

EAST MEADOW, NY -- New York Islanders netminder Ilya Sorokin has struggled in 2023-24.

The defense in front of him has been poor, but Sorokin rose above similar defensive woes last season to be named a Vezina finalist.

This season, Sorokin owns career-worsts across the board, with a 3.08 GAA and a .906 SV% in 52 appearances.

As of late, the numbers have been supbar, posting a 3.58 GAA with an .881 SV% on a personal six-game losing streak (0-6-0).

It got to the point that Patrick Roy decided to run with backup Semyon Varlamov for three straight games, his latest a 4-3 overtime win over the second wild-card Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night.

With the second leg of the back-to-back on Tuesday night, Sorokin will return to the pipes against the Chicago Blackhawks, his first start since allowing three goals on 29 shots in a 4-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Mar. 24.

"I don't look at past. I just focus on practice and what I can control, like always," Sorokin told The Hockey News. "Get my body ready for next game and that's it."

Since Sorokin came to North America during bubble play in 2020, he's had the same goalie coaches, with Mitch Korn serving as the Director of Goaltending and Piero Greco as his day-to-day goalie coach.

"It's the same as the last four years," Sorokin said on what he works on. "It's positional play, puck control, and rebound control."

Early on in North America, Sorokin struggled positionally, especially on short-side shots and odd-man rushes.

Over the last few seasons, he's shored up that area of his game, which allowed him to become one of the best the NHL has to offer.

But goaltending at the NHL level is weird. Take the stat leaderboard from a season ago, for example, and look at Goals Saved Above Average and Goals Saved Above Expected.

Only one of the top-five goalies in that category in 2022-23, Winnipeg Jets starter Connor Hellebuyck, is there in 2023-24.

The same can be said for a lot of the advanced metrics.

With how good shooters are at the NHL level, goalies need to be even better at adapting, especially with their positioning as release points nowadays make being off an inch potentially ultra costly.

That's what makes video work so important.

"When you watch your video, you see all the things you shall change," Sorokin said. "So, I'm working with goalie coach every day to try and change this."

Being out of position, even slightly, impacts not only the ability to stop a shot but also rebound control.

This season, screens have been a killer for Sorokin, especially on the penalty kill.

"A lot of goals on screens. I try to be in the right position, be active, and find the puck, trying to be aggressive," Sorokin said. "We play against good teams, who make a good screen, so it's hard to find puck and then good passes, really fast, it's hard to find the puck."

What's hurt Sorokin, at times, has been his depth on screens.

If you are between the pipes, there are two ways to defend the screen, which is similar to just playing straight shots.

The more archaic way, a la Henrik Lundqvist, was to rely on reflexes to make saves, as he played deep in his crease to give himself more time to find the puck.

The more modern way is to be as aggressive as possible.

While the goalie may not see the shot, aggressive play eliminates the amount of net there is to shoot at and also reduces the ability for a deflected shot to find holes.

"If you are on the line and you don't see the shot, it's hard to stop shots," Sorokin said. "You shouldn't lose your position. Our coach is telling me to be more aggressive."

To Sorokin's credit, he hasn't allowed as many screenshots to beat him lately.

What has helped is that the Islanders' defense, under Patrick Roy, has done a better job keeping shots to the outside.

Under Lane Lambert's defense, in part due to failed clears and opponent cycles, they were allowing way more shots from the points.

Keeping the opponents to the outside lessens screens since the deep forward is more likely to look to open up for rebounds, especially if the initial shot is from low-danger spots on the ice.

As much as fighting through screens is Sorokin's responsibility, it's also his responsibility to let his defenseman know where he needs support, whether it's moving a player to the left or to the right, etc.

"If I don't see the puck, I say some words," Sorokin said. "We are always talking."

THN asked Mike Reilly and Noah Dobson about how the defense can better support their netminder, especially when he is a goalie with elite talent behind him.

"It can be tough sometimes. A lot of teams in the league now, they're playing three high, and they're going D-to-D, maybe the third guy, so, you could be in a good position off the first, initial look, and then all of a sudden it goes over and now the other guys on the better side of positioning," Reilly said. "That's when it gets tough, when there's teams that are moving around up top, and they're freewheeling up top because they've been basically the pucks going to different sides.

"So, he's gonna be eventually, probably, on your good side, and then you want to box him out. Then he might go to the other side and already be standing there because the pucks just got there in a half second, so it's just reading a little better and definitely trying to tie up the stick."

As for Sorokin's communication back there, Reilly said it's solid.

"He's good. I haven't been here that long, obviously, but he's a positive guy and works his bag off. You can tell that he's maybe a little soft-spoken for sure, but, at the same time, he's the rock back there, so it's our job to help him."

"I know he'll do whatever he can to fight through screens."

Dobson shared that over the years, Sorokin has become more comfortable with the team and vice versa when it comes to on-ice communication and tendencies.

"He's comfortable with us now. He'll let us know if he can't see and stuff, but a lot of it's just instinct, some reactionary things during the game," Dobson said. "Things happen so fast. So, you're just trying to...if you're in the way, you're blocking in. If not, you're tying up sticks and getting a good box out because if he sees most shots, he's going to stop them. So, it's just communication and using your instincts in that situation."

At the end of the day, stopping screens are on the job requirement sheet, especially for a goalie in Sorokin's position who is gearing up to make $8.25 million per year for the next eight years.

"It's part of our job. It's hard. It's tough, but it's what we have to do," Sorokin said.

THN asked Roy what he saw regarding screens and his team's defensive coverage.

"It was like this in my day, and that's the one thing that hasn't changed," Roy said. "When a goalie is hot, you need to go in front of the net and create those screens. That's what they do to Ilya and Varly. Every day, our guys are working hard to help them see those shots. And, we try to screen the goalies on the other side. We know that when the guy is playing some good games and is playing really well, you have to do something a little different and make it a little tougher for them."

Roy didn't mind the abundance of screens during his playing days.

"It really didn't bother me, quite honestly," Roy said. "I mean, I prefer to see the shots, don't get me wrong, but I expected that. It makes your job a lot tougher. There's no doubt about it. But at the same time, it's part of the game and you have to be ready for this. That was my mindset. And we're all different. It's a challenge that you facing, and -- I call it adversity -- you have to find a way to get on top of it."

Let's move the conversation back to rebounds.

Under Lambert this season, Sorokin faced 1,132 shots through 33 games, a league-high. Again, the defensive coverage in front of him was weak, which impacts everything. There were chances for Sorokin to swallow shots, but instead, he kicked out rebounds.

There's no question that the inability to track the puck, whether through screens or point blank, led to the number of shots Sorokin faced per game, as sequences may have him making three to four saves instead of just one if he holds onto the initial shot.

That's why, at the end of the day, positioning is paramount, which Sorokin said he is working on.

Goalie coach Greco doesn't hesitate during practice to quickly adjust Sorokin if he's something.

"He tells us. If I lose the position during a drill, he'll make sure I'm in a better position, and it helps to watch video, Sorokin said.

"Before every game, every practice, we watch video and for me, it's really important. It's very good if you can see visual and different angles, so it's very important."

Under Roy, 19 games, Sorokin has faced the 16th most shows in the NHL, a huge difference. That's in part due to where the shots are coming from, with less coming from the points, making it, in theory, easier to track.

Sorokin sitting and watching isn't something he's done often over the last few years. But Roy thinks this time between starts will be good for him.

"It happened to me too when I was having tougher times, and sometimes you sit on the bench, which I hated," Roy said. "But sometimes it's good to be there and just refocus and get back to basics and what made you successful. And I think that's what really needs to understand what made him have the success that he had. And I think watching Varly probably takes some pressure off of him as well.

"And I think it's good for our team. We all know here in this room that Ilya will come back, and he's gonna have to play a big role for us."

Sorokin and the Islanders battle the Blackhawks on Tuesday night at 7:30 PM ET.

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