Sorokin Is Playing Amazing Right Now The New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/] battled but could not overcome their two-goal third-period deficit, falling 4-3 to the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night. Here's how the game unfolded: The Islanders scored the game's first goal on their first shot of the game at 1:05. Jean-Gabriel Pageau fed Simon Holmstrom on the odd-man rush, who slid the puck under Connor Hellebuyck's pads: This was Holmstrom's 14th goal of the season and 30th point. It didn't take long for the Jets to tie the game at 1-1, as Alex Iafallo fought off Bo Horvat before flicking a wrist shot up high past Ilya Sorokin at 4:27: This was Iafallo's eighth goal of the season. The two teams settled in from there until a series of hits from the Islanders' fourth line. Pierre Engvall took out his man, followed by Kyle MacLean, forcing the puck off Neal Pionk's stick. All alone in front of the net, Marc Gatcomb retrieved the puck and sent a backhand past Hellebuyck's blocker at 12:07: This was Gatcomb's third goal of the season, all coming in his past five games. The Islanders continued to push, highlighted by a breakout started by Gatcomb on the Islanders' blue line. He fed MacLean, who was joined by Tony DeAngelo on the rush, but MacLean's shot was deflected by Hellebuyck at 18:13, keeping it a one-goal game. The Islanders and Jets each recorded nine shots on goal in the first period. Nikolaj Ehlers applied pressure early in the second period with a wrist shot from the slot that was saved by Sorokin's blocker. Later in the shift, Horvat was sent to the penalty box with a minor penalty for interference with Vladislav Namestnikov. The Jets entered the night with a 38.7% success rate on the power play, the best in the NHL. Just 50 seconds into the kill, Ehlers put a shot from the slot on Sorokin, producing a rebound for Gabe Vilardi. Sorokin saved both attempts, and Vilardi's final push warranted a shove from Alexander Romanov. The Jets continued to push, including a Pionk shot from the point, but the Islanders survived the kill. Soon after, an offensive zone turnover led Kyle Connor and Vilardi down the ice. Connor fed Vilardi, who buried it past Sorokin at 4:23: This was Vilardi's 23rd goal of the season. Mark Scheifele drew the second power play of the game for the Jets when DeAngelo was forced into a tripping penalty to prevent a breakaway at 8:42. Once again, Patrick Roy's squad survived a penalty kill, this time without conceding any quality scoring chances. The Jets took their first lead of the night at 14:50 when Cole Perfetti’s no-look pass fooled everyone, finding Ehlers alone in front with an open net: This was the 17th goal of the season for Ehlers. An Adam Boqvist shot from the point at 17:41 seemingly produced a rebound in the crease, but Hellebuyck got the puck in his glove before a scrum ensued. Just a minute later, the Jets' top line continued to dominate as a Scheifele feed found Vilardi, who went bar down on Sorokin to extend Winnipeg's lead to 4-2: The Jets led the Islanders in shots 13-7 in the second period. Heading into the night, the Jets held a 29-0-1 record when leading after two periods, making an already uphill battle even steeper for the Islanders. The Islanders received their first power play of the game just over a minute into the period when Cole Perfetti hooked Scott Perunovich. Despite the man advantage, the best scoring chance came from Winnipeg, as Kyle Connor broke free on a breakaway midway through the penalty kill. Sorokin turned aside the shot. After not creating many chances, Kyle Palmieri buried a rebound to cut Winnipegs' lead to 4-3 at 11:07 of the third period off an Alexander Romanov shot: Cizikas had a chance to tie the game at 12:12, but Hellebuyck got his glove on a wide-open shot. While on the power play, their third of the period, Horvat rang the crossbar. They had a few chances to score, the best they've probably looked since DeAngelo, but no goals came of it. The Islanders showed fight, but couldn't find the equalizer, falling 4-3. UP NEXT: Islanders battle the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night at 8 PM ET
