It was only right that the NHL announced Ilya Sorokin can be an All-Star just because the third period of the Islanders-Sabres game Thursday was in its waning moments. There may be no other game this season that so perfectly encapsulates each what Sorokin has done for the Islanders and what the team has did not do for him.
Within the 3-2 additional time loss to Buffalo, Sorokin essentially kept the Islanders in the sport all on his own. He stopped 12 high-danger shots, made 42 total saves and built a highlight reel over 60 minutes. The Islanders had a 1-0 lead after a primary period by which they were out-chanced 20-5. They got a degree in a game by which the expected goals count read 4.51 to 2.72. That’s all Sorokin.
The All-Star nod is undoubtedly deserved, and the votes he’ll eventually get for the Vezina Trophy will probably be, too. Because the Islanders have turned the page into disaster this month, Sorokin has been the one thing keeping them within the playoff race. Since Dec. 17, Sorokin has began 13 games — all but two — and has a .934 save percentage. The Islanders, in those games, are 5-4-4, simply unable to back up what may be the most effective goaltending within the league.
If the Islanders fail to make the playoffs, it may cost Sorokin the Vezina. Not that anyone would expect him to care.
Following the sport Thursday, Sorokin said he made the KHL All-Star Game five times while in Russia. Then he said he couldn’t remember the format of that event.
Asked about spending All-Star weekend with Igor Shesterkin, his close friend and considered one of the selections from the Rangers, Sorokin said: “I don’t take into consideration this. Thanks again for our fans who vote for me. In order that’s it.”
Sorokin’s demeanor is considered one of total focus.
“He obviously deserves it,” Matt Martin said, upon learning Sorokin made the All-Star team. “He’s considered one of the highest goaltenders within the league and we’re very fortunate to have him here.
“Tonight was more of the identical that we’ve seen all season. Just regular in net. After we do have breakdowns, he generally swallows them up for us and makes it look easy when he does it. We’re blessed to not only have him but two goalies back there [Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov] who cover up for our mistakes as often as they do.”
Sorokin has played 35 games, tied for the league lead amongst goaltenders, and has saved 24.1 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck. That amounts to .725 expected goals per 60 minutes that Sorokin has erased, an accounting which seems to understate his impact.
These days, it has felt as if the 27-year-old Russian is the one thing standing between the Islanders and the Connor Bedard sweepstakes. That they still have a likelihood on the playoffs, glum as that likelihood could seem on the heels of seven losses in eight games, is a testament to only how strong their goaltending has been.
“He’s probably essentially the most deserving, especially,” Brock Nelson, the Islanders’ other selection for All-Star weekend, said Thursday. “Especially I believe an evening like tonight just proves his price, his value to us. He gives us a likelihood if we’re not at our greatest to still win games. Well-deserved for him.”
It’s a likelihood the Islanders have far too often did not take advantage of. The loss Thursday wasn’t quite so frustrating as home losses to Boston or Washington earlier within the week, but that’s damning it with faint praise.
The Islanders have the kind of goaltending that the majority teams would kill to get.
They simply appear to benefit from it.
It was only right that the NHL announced Ilya Sorokin can be an All-Star just because the third period of the Islanders-Sabres game Thursday was in its waning moments. There may be no other game this season that so perfectly encapsulates each what Sorokin has done for the Islanders and what the team has did not do for him.
Within the 3-2 additional time loss to Buffalo, Sorokin essentially kept the Islanders in the sport all on his own. He stopped 12 high-danger shots, made 42 total saves and built a highlight reel over 60 minutes. The Islanders had a 1-0 lead after a primary period by which they were out-chanced 20-5. They got a degree in a game by which the expected goals count read 4.51 to 2.72. That’s all Sorokin.
The All-Star nod is undoubtedly deserved, and the votes he’ll eventually get for the Vezina Trophy will probably be, too. Because the Islanders have turned the page into disaster this month, Sorokin has been the one thing keeping them within the playoff race. Since Dec. 17, Sorokin has began 13 games — all but two — and has a .934 save percentage. The Islanders, in those games, are 5-4-4, simply unable to back up what may be the most effective goaltending within the league.
If the Islanders fail to make the playoffs, it may cost Sorokin the Vezina. Not that anyone would expect him to care.
Following the sport Thursday, Sorokin said he made the KHL All-Star Game five times while in Russia. Then he said he couldn’t remember the format of that event.
Asked about spending All-Star weekend with Igor Shesterkin, his close friend and considered one of the selections from the Rangers, Sorokin said: “I don’t take into consideration this. Thanks again for our fans who vote for me. In order that’s it.”
Sorokin’s demeanor is considered one of total focus.
“He obviously deserves it,” Matt Martin said, upon learning Sorokin made the All-Star team. “He’s considered one of the highest goaltenders within the league and we’re very fortunate to have him here.
“Tonight was more of the identical that we’ve seen all season. Just regular in net. After we do have breakdowns, he generally swallows them up for us and makes it look easy when he does it. We’re blessed to not only have him but two goalies back there [Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov] who cover up for our mistakes as often as they do.”
Sorokin has played 35 games, tied for the league lead amongst goaltenders, and has saved 24.1 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck. That amounts to .725 expected goals per 60 minutes that Sorokin has erased, an accounting which seems to understate his impact.
These days, it has felt as if the 27-year-old Russian is the one thing standing between the Islanders and the Connor Bedard sweepstakes. That they still have a likelihood on the playoffs, glum as that likelihood could seem on the heels of seven losses in eight games, is a testament to only how strong their goaltending has been.
“He’s probably essentially the most deserving, especially,” Brock Nelson, the Islanders’ other selection for All-Star weekend, said Thursday. “Especially I believe an evening like tonight just proves his price, his value to us. He gives us a likelihood if we’re not at our greatest to still win games. Well-deserved for him.”
It’s a likelihood the Islanders have far too often did not take advantage of. The loss Thursday wasn’t quite so frustrating as home losses to Boston or Washington earlier within the week, but that’s damning it with faint praise.
The Islanders have the kind of goaltending that the majority teams would kill to get.
They simply appear to benefit from it.
