As much as this Islanders season has been about everything new — Matthew Schaefer, Mathieu Darche, the whole vibe of the organization doing a 180 from 365 days ago — it’s easy to forget that their biggest trump card in the playoff race is the goalie who was drafted by Garth Snow, brought to North America by Lou Lamoriello and who’s been a rock for this team ever since.
Or, at least, it’s easy to forget that until it’s right in front of your eyes.
That was just where it was as the clock ticked down Sunday night and Ilya Sorokin, playing for the second straight night and under fire late in the third period, kept the Islanders afloat in a crucial 1-0 win over the Blue Jackets that marked their most important win of the season to date.
It was his seventh shutout of the season, which leads the league.
It came 24 hours after he was pulled for the first time all year, having given up six goals in a thumping in Montreal.
Always a paragon of steadiness, Sorokin was levelheaded as ever.
“It’s a game,” he said. “And we have 20 hours to start the next game, and I try to forget this game like a bad day. Today when I wake up, just have fun. Morning routine with the guys. Enjoy the moment.”
He may have been the only Islander who could enjoy Sunday until the final horn sounded.
The team was missing Ryan Pulock and Anthony Duclair with lower-body injuries, and they were playing what Bo Horvat called their most stressful game of the season so far.
There was a make-or-break feeling to this one after two straight losses.
A third in a row, to one of the teams they’re chasing, would not have been a death blow in the playoff race, per se.
- CHECK OUT THE LATEST NHL STANDINGS AND ISLANDERS STATS
But they needed this one as bad as any team can need a regular-season game.
Even with the win, the Isles still don’t control their own destiny.
They are in a wild-card spot, one point ahead of Detroit with one more game played, and behind the Blue Jackets for third in the Metro, tied on points but with one more game played than Columbus as well.
Still, this was a win they could hang their hats on.
There was no better way to turn the page from Saturday than Horvat scoring from Anders Lee’s feed off the rush just 85 seconds into this one, and despite it being the second end of a back-to-back, the Islanders showed no sign of flagging.
“When you lose a couple games you get challenged. You get tested,” coach Patrick Roy said. “You have an opportunity to find a way to perform like we did or the opposite. And I wasn’t surprised at our team. The guys have been resilient. It’s a pleasure for me coaching these guys, watching them play, working with them. And I’m telling you, this group is very resilient.”
With Horvat’s goal the difference going into the third period of a low-event match, the Isles needed every ounce of that resilience.
Ditto after what would have been Horvat’s second goal — a shot from the top of the zone whose rebound caromed off a Mathieu Olivier/Lee collision at the right post before going in — was waved off due to a successful goaltender interference challenge that left the Islanders equal parts mystified and infuriated.
Truth be told, this was far from a perfect third, with high-danger chances at 5-1 across the 20 minutes for Columbus and Sorokin making seven saves in the final 3:14.
The Islanders were better than in Ottawa or Montreal but they still sat back too much, still made life tough for their goalie.
On the ice from Long Island
Sign up for Inside the Islanders by Ethan Sears, a weekly Sports+ exclusive.
Thank you
Sorokin, though, turned aside all 23 shots he saw, and loudly stated his case for the Vezina Trophy in his biggest performance of the season.
“Today I feel better than yesterday,” Sorokin said. “Usually, it works like, second game [of a back-to-back] you feel better. I don’t know why it’s like this but today, I feel better.”
The legendary goaltender who made the call to start Sorokin on consecutive days might have something to say on that.
“When I had a game that I was not 100 percent happy … you want to play right away,” Roy said. “You want to play even the next night. And for some reason, your focus is better and so Ilya’s a person that loves to compete.”
On Sunday, he was the person who gave the Islanders their best win of the season.
“Last five minutes was tough,” Sorokin said. “But when it finishes, it’s a big breath after.”
