NY Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin named NHL's top star of the week

Ilya Sorokin named top star of the week

Philadelphia Flyers v New York Islanders
Philadelphia Flyers v New York Islanders | Al Bello/GettyImages

Recognized for his incredible efforts, NY Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin has been named the number-one star in the NHL for the week.

A driving force during the Islanders' 7-game winning streak that came to an end last night at the hands of the Florida Panthers, Sorokin finished the week with three wins, including a shutout, a 1.33 GAA, and a .953 SV%.

Sorokin was between the pipes in the Isles’ 3-0 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night, turning away all 23 shots he faced, recording his third shutout of the season.

Sorokin shines bright

It hasn’t just been this week that the Russian netminder has been on top of his game. Sorokin has been a driving force in the Isles’ recent run of form, and one of the main reasons the team has once again put themselves in playoff contention. 

Over his last eight starts, the former CSKA Moscow netminder has gone 7-1-0 with a 1.71 GAA, and .938 SV%. Struggling earlier in the season, Sorokin has improved his GAA to 2.63 and SV% to .908 in a year where goaltending numbers have been down. 

Sorokin will be taking on the lion's share of starts until after the 4 Nations Face-Off. Semyon Varlamov has missed over two months of action and is listed as out indefinitely. Marcus Hogberg became a solid number-two option for Patrick Roy, but he suffered what appeared to be a hand injury and won’t be back in action until at least after the February break.

The Islanders will need their top netminder to perform like one if they hope to stay in contention for one of the two Wild Card spots.

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