Ilya Sorokin: Islanders’ Star Goalie Struggles

EAST MEADOW, N.Y. — Patrick Roy has been in Ilya Sorokin’s shoes.

After leading the Montreal Canadiens to a Stanley Cup in 1986 as a rookie and winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the postseason MVP, Roy played in just 44 of 82 games the following year.

“It happens to everybody,” the Hall-of-Fame goalie and New York Islanders head coach said on Monday. “That’s why I’m saying that you call this a career. You have some ups, you have some downs. It’s how you bounce back.

“Ilya is a smart guy. He didn’t forget how to play in goal because maybe he’s having a tougher time.”

Sorokin lost the starting job to Semyon Varlamov down the stretch of the regular season after his numbers dipped from a 2022-23 campaign in which he finished second in the Vezina Trophy voting.

Varlamov started the first two games of the Islanders’ first-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes — both losses despite strong showings — before Roy turned to Sorokin for Game 3. He allowed three goals on 14 shots and was pulled for Varlamov midway through the second period.

Upon his exit, Sorokin was seen hunched over in the tunnel behind the Islanders’ bench, almost despondent.

“I was just thinking about the goals,” Sorokin said. “Nothing else.”

In the following days, reviewing his outing with goaltending coach Piero Greco was especially excruciating, though positioning appears to be the crux of his struggles.

“I wanted to have a cigarette,” Sorokin joked after his video review session. “I just have to adjust a few things that I do every day. You do the things you can control, hand position and body position. It’s all about position.”

With the Islanders on the brink of elimination trailing 3-1 in the series, Roy is going with Varlamov, who stopped 42 shots in a 3-2 double-overtime win on Saturday, for Game 5 in Raleigh. It appears to be his net until further notice.

“I think he’s played really good all season,” Sorokin said. “And he’ll continue to play on that high level.”

All the while, he will do what he can to get back on track should his number be called again and maintain a positive attitude throughout.

“It’s a new day. What’s in the past stays in the past,” Sorokin said. “You can’t change this. You can just focus on today and continue working. You have to have a short memory. If I thought a long time about all my goals, I might be crazy.”

Varlamov and Roy remain his biggest proponents understanding that there is still a chance that they will need him in this postseason.

“If something happens I know we can count on him,” Roy said. “I have no doubt in my mind. It happened to me… we grow from it. We become better because we learn from the situation.”

“He’s been outstanding for us all year long,” Varlamov added. “Some games you win, some games you lose but he’s an outstanding goalie and he has a lot of support from this team.”