Last season was not a good one for New York Islanders franchise goaltender Ilya Sorokin.
He struggled with consistency, he had trouble holding onto leads, and he did not look like the goaltender who was a Vezina Trophy finalist the previous season. His season statistics reflected his inconsistent play as he finished last year with a record of 25-19-0-12 with a 3.01 goals-against average, a .909 save percentage, and two shutouts.
While those numbers were not terrible, they were not ones that the Islanders or their fans were used to seeing. Just look at what Sorokin, 29, accomplished in his first three seasons with the club:
- 2020-21: 13-6-0-3 with a 2.17 goals-against average, a .918 save percentage, and three shutouts
- 2021-22: 26-18-0-8 with a 2.40 goals-against average, a .925 save percentage, and seven shutouts
- 2022-23: 31-22-0-7 with a 2.34 goals-against average, a .924 save percentage, and six shutouts
Things did not look good heading into this season either for Sorokin. Before the start of training camp, Islanders head coach Patrick Roy announced that he had back surgery in the offseason.
For now, everyone can put their worries to rest as Sorokin has looked terrific for the Islanders in his first four starts this season. As of this writing (Friday night, October 25), Sorokin is 2-1-0-1 with a 1.74 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage.
Here is what Sorokin has done in his first four games this season:
- Stopped 32 of 34 shots in a win over the Colorado Avalanche on Monday, October 14.
- Stopped 29 of 30 shots in an overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, October 17.
- Stopped 10 of 11 shots in a loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, October 22.
- Stopped 32 of 35 shots in an overtime win over the New Jersey Devils on Friday, October 25.
There are a few reasons why Sorokin is off to a solid start this year. For starters, he is seeing the puck well.
Sorokin is not getting caught out of position, he puts himself in a good position to stop second and third shots when necessary, he is controlling his rebounds, and he is not allowing soft goals at the wrong time.
Secondly, he is coming up big when his team needs him to. He made some big saves in regulation and then a few in overtime when his club beat the Devils in overtime on Friday, October 25, something that the Islanders did not get with any regularity last season.
On the big saves that he is making this season, Sorokin is showing great lateral movement, is doing a terrific job of following the play with his eyes and body, and is staying square to the puck so that he can either hold onto it or guide it into a safe area. This was not always the case last season.
Lastly, he is probably very motivated to play well for his head coach, who happens to be one of the greatest goaltenders of all time. Last season, Roy lost confidence in Sorokin and ended up turning to Semyon Varlamov, who ended up helping get the Islanders into the playoffs and starting four of the five Stanley Cup playoff games against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Sorokin probably wants to show Roy that he is an elite goaltender and that he should be trusted to do the job. He also probably wants to show his coach that he can excel when it matters most.
There is a lot of hockey left to be played, but if you are the Islanders, you have to love the strong goaltending you are getting from Sorokin so far this season.
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