Isaiah George Talk On Hockey Night in New York It was clear that the New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/] were a tad hesitant to turn to backup netminder Marcus Hogberg for a start ever since Semyon Varlamov suffered a lower-body injury on Nov. 30. Backed by the Islanders desperation for wins, starting netminder Ilya Sorokin started 12 straight games, but it was clear that the number of games was taking a toll. With the Islanders amid a three-games in-four-nights situation, head coach Patrick Roy finally turned to Hogberg, giving him the nod in the second leg of their home-and-home back-to-back with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday night. He was flat-out brilliant. Despite the loss, the 30-year-old turned aside 38 of 41 shots in a 3-2 loss, with all three goals against completely out of his control. Two came while the Penguins were on the power play, one point blank and the other off a defenseman, while the other was a pass to the top of the crease for a wide-open chance. With the Islanders chasing 3-2, Hogberg dove with the paddle to rob Bryan Rust to give his team a shot at finding an equalizer: Hogberg earned another start...whenever that comes. "He was outstanding. I don't think we played well in front of him," Roy said postgame (H/t New York Islanders). "I mean, defensively, we gave up 40 shots or something like that. That's too many shots, in my opinion, two short-handed, one tip on us. And the other one, I mean, it was a give-and-go from behind the net. "But I thought he gave us a chance. He made a phenomenal save at the end, kept it a 3-2 game, and gave us a chance to get back in the game." Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjExNzU1MDE2MDY1NzIyMzQ0/usatsi_25082182.jpg] Looking at the Islanders' upcoming schedule, Sorokin will likely start against the Toronto Maple Leafs, a 1 PM matinee on New Year's Eve. Then, the Islanders have a day off before hosting the Leafs at UBS Arena, a 7:30 PM puck drop on Thursday night before shipping up to Boston for an evening affair with the Bruins on Sunday at 6 PM ET. So, unless Roy wants to reward Hogberg, it doesn't look like a start is coming, but that will ultimately depend on how Sorokin looks going forward. Until Sunday's start, Hogberg was a question mark and still is to some extent, given the short sample size. But, through three appearances this season, Hogberg has turned aside 55 of 58 shots that have come his way (.948 SV%). Hogberg went two years, four months, and a day between NHL starts and certainly made the most of this opportunity, so stick taps to him.
