NY Islanders top Lightning behind Sorokin shutout and Ritchie highlight reel goal

New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin stopped all 32 shots he faced for his third shutout of the season, tying the franchise record for career shutouts, as the Isles defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 2–0 on Saturday night. Sorokin earned his 25th career shutout, matching Glenn “Chico” Resch for the most in team history.

Calum Ritchie broke the scoreless deadlock in the third period, and Casey Cizikas added an empty-net goal with two seconds remaining. Jonas Johansson made 17 saves for Tampa Bay, which dropped its third straight game. The Lightning were also shut out for the first time this season.

“Fortunate bounce there, I just tried to jam it,” Ritchie said. “Tony tried to find me down low, Lee got a touch on it. It’s too hard to get your body around it and put it in, so I tried to just get it in the net.”

The Isles capitalized during the back half of a four-minute power play after Brandon Hagel was assessed a high-sticking double minor on Cizikas at 10:14 of the third, a call upheld after review. Anders Lee tipped Tony DeAngelo’s point shot, caromed off the end boards, and landed on Ritchie’s stick. The rookie forward pulled the puck between his legs and tucked it past Johansson at 12:46.

Lightning captain Victor Hedman returned after missing 12 games with an undisclosed injury. Tampa Bay, however, remained without goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy and leading scorer Nikita Kucherov.

“I think it’s a statement. We’re up there with the top teams in the league, we show it when we play against the top teams, we’re right in it with them,” Ritchie said. “We’re playing some good hockey right now, we just have to continue to build off of it.”

The Islanders play the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Sunday night.