It's been a November to remember for NY Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin

November has been a month of transformation for New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin, and maybe the month that rewrites his entire season and that of his team.

After a rocky start that had Islanders fans uneasy, Sorokin has flipped the narrative and reasserted himself as one of the NHL’s premier goaltenders. Through his first seven games, Sorokin went 2–4–1 with an .868 save percentage and a 3.75 goals-against average; numbers far below his elite norms. His timing and reads were off, and the Islanders were still searching for their structure.

The goalie coach changed. The team hired a mental performance consultant. The calendar flipped.

Since October 31, Sorokin has been arguably the best goalie in the league: 5–1–1, a .941 save percentage, a 1.69 GAA, and two shutouts - tied with Minnesota’s Jesper Wallstedt for the most in the NHL. It has truly been a November to remember.

His dominance hasn’t gone unnoticed by his coach, and not just any coach. Patrick Roy, one of the greatest goaltenders in NHL history, said post-game Thursday that he could tell something special was coming. Roy said he knew Sorokin was going to have a big game before the puck even dropped because of the way he carried himself. “He seems to be in the zone right now," said Roy.

It echoed what Sorokin himself described: a quiet confidence, built from focus and rhythm.

“It’s not easy,” Sorokin said. “You should be focused the whole game… There were not a lot of shots in the first two periods, so you should find concentration, focus and play shift by shift.”

Even on low-shot nights, Sorokin looks sharp — tracking pucks cleanly, controlling rebounds, and giving the Islanders poise on the back end. He credits the team in front of him, saying, “Guys played very well. We played a lot in the offensive zone. Thanks for them.”

A month ago, Sorokin was searching for answers.

Now, with his game peaking and his Hall-of-Fame coach recognizing that unmistakable “locked-in” look, the Islanders have their backbone back, and their season is rising with him.