Islanders: Ilya Sorokin Ends His Season On A High Note

Last night, Ilya Sorokin got the start in the final regular season game at Nassau Coliseum. While the Islanders have one more game remaining on their schedule, the assumption is that Semyon Varlamov will get one more tune-up before the playoffs.

In likely his final start of the season, Sorokin was phenomenal. He let in just one goal, a goal that wasn’t his fault, and had a .958 save percentage to go along with it.

By far the save of the game for him came on a play against Miles Wood where he got aggressive and showed of his acrobatics.

If this is really it for Sorokin, he’d finish the regular season with 21 starts, a 13-6-2 record a .918 save percentage and a 2.16 goals against average. I don’t know how you could possibly ask for any better for a rookie.

For goalies who have played in 10 or more games, Sorokin is 12th in the league in save percentage and seventh in goals against. His three shutouts also puts him in the top-10. Is he already a top-10 goalie in the league?

Sure, having Semyon Varlamov have the year that he’s had quiets the impact that Sorokin has had so far but we can’t dismiss just how good he’s been. 71.4 percent of his starts were deemed quality starts and he only had three really bad starts (save percentage below 85%).

Sorokin will be due a new contract after the season, and with his performance, he will likely need a raise. Lou Lamoriello has his work cut out for him when trying to figure out this goalie room for the future.

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One thing is for certain, the Islanders have a gem in Ilya Sorokin. Imagine turning on him after a slow start to his NHL career. Couldn’t be me. Ilya has found a home on Long Island for hopefully, a very long time.