Just How Good Has Islanders Goalie Ilya Sorokin Been?

New York Islanders v New York Rangers
New York Islanders v New York Rangers | Bruce Bennett/GettyImages

Ilya Sorokin is good. I think I tweet it out every single day but Ilya Sorokin is really damn good, man. In his second year in the league, he holds a 22-13-7 record with six shutouts a .927 save percentage and a 2.29 goals against average for the Islanders26-year-old. You can't ask for too much better from your 26 year old goalie.

Stefen Rosner, who covers the Islanders for NYI Hockey Now, spelled it out pretty nicely putting Sorokin's season into context.

So, Sorokin is top-five in save percentage, goals saved above average, and high danger save percentage. Somehow, 2.29 is out of the top-five for goals against average but still, I think everyone would take a save percentage under 2.30 from a starting goalie.

He's not just good, Ilya Sorokin is elite. His name deserves to be in the conversation with Igor Shesterkin, Jacob Markstrom, Fredrick Anderson, etc. All those guys are getting Vezina talk but Sorokin isn't.

Well, the Islanders just aren't as good as the Rangers, Flames, and Hurricanes and that hurts his chances. You have to go back to 2013 in order to find the last time there was a goalie that won the Vezina on a team that missed the playoffs and that was when Sergei Bobrovsky won it with a .930 save percentage and a 2.00 goals against average.

The unfortunate reality is that the Islanders being on the outside of the playoff picture looking in is really impacting Ilya this year. Could he be a candidate for the Vezina next year though? Assuming the Islanders retool and are competitive, absolutely.

For the record, through 64 career starts (which is what the high end starters usually get in a season) Ilya Sorokin is 35-19-10 with a .925 save percentage and a 2.25 goals against average. Oh, and he has nine shutouts too.

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