New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin is once again, finally, looking like the Vezina Trophy-caliber netminder who was once considered amongst the NHL’s very best just a few short years ago.
Following a concerning 2023-24 season that saw a significant regression in production, further red flags had been going off throughout the first half of this year.
Sorokin was 10-11-4 with a .898 save percentage in his first 25 games of the campaign, including a miserable 14-game stretch in December in which he posted a 3.45 goals-against average and an .873 save percentage.
In theory, his numbers faced an even larger dip as New York’s defense continued to get ravaged by injuries. Noah Dobson, Mike Reilly, and Ryan Pulock are out, prompting general manager Lou Lamoriello to hit the open market and bring in discarded veterans like Tony DeAngelo, Adam Boqvist, and Scott Perunovich.
But the defense and penalty kill has improved significantly in front of Sorokin, and he has responded since the calendar flipped to 2025.
Over his last nine appearances, he is 8-1 with a .938 save percentage (211 saves on 225 shots). Six of those wins have come during the Islanders’ seven-game winning streak, where his save percentage jumped up to .958 (136 saves on 142 shots).
“He’s been really solid… What I love about him right now, it looks easy,” head coach Patrick Roy, a Hall-of-Fame goalie in his own right, said. “And I think when a goalie’s at the top of his game, that’s the situation.”
Sorokin’s return to form could not have come at a more perfect time. Not only does it help support a patchwork defense, but the Islanders now find themselves on the precipice of a playoff spot — something that seemed almost unbelievable just 10 days ago.
On Jan. 24, New York sat in last place in the Metropolitan Division and were eight points out of a final Wild Card spot. They woke up on Sunday following an overtime win over the Tampa Bay Lightning (and before their clash against the Florida Panthers) in fifth in their division and three points out of that No. 2 Wild Card berth.
