When we spoke with New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello in Tampa on Feb. 1, he shared that goalie Marcus Hogberg’s injury was a “four-week situation” with the hope that he’d be back when the schedule resumed.
Unfortunately for Hogberg and the Islanders, the NHL vet has not returned to practice yet. He has skated with goalie coach Piero Greco before skates, so that is a positive.
However, Hogberg is not ready to back up Ilya Sorokin when play resumes on Sunday night against the Dallas Stars.
Jakub Skarek, AHL starter turned NHL backup who played just one game since Hogberg went down in their 3-2 overtime win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Jan. 25, will continue to fill that role.
The rookie stopped 27 of 32 shots in a 6-3 loss to the Florida Panthers on Feb. 2.
While the loss was certainly not on him, Hogberg is clearly a much better option if Sorokin needs a rest. That is why getting the Swedish backstop back is vital.
But not having Hogberg back right now isn’t an immediate problem at all.
Sorokin, who got two weeks off and had been playing the best hockey we’ve seen from him when the Islanders won seven straight games prior to dropping three of four before the break, will likely be tasked with playing all four games this week.
The problem comes after this first week back, with the Islanders having a back-to-back against the New York Rangers and Winnipeg Jets next Tuesday and Wednesday, March 3 and 4, respectively.
Then, the Islanders head to California with another back-to-back on Saturday, March 8, and Sunday, March 9, against the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks.
Those are the games where the problems lie because we are not sure how much head coach Patrick Roy trusts Skarek, and if he doesn’t trust him and Hogberg isn’t available, that means Sorokin will be playing a lot of hockey.
You may be thinking, with the Islanders four points back of a wild-card spot, that Sorokin should be playing as many games as possible and has proven to be able to handle back-to-backs over his career.
But the Islanders also need Sorokin at their best, and resting him will be important, even if it’s just one game here and there.
In years past, that one or two games rest didn’t drastically impact the talent between the pipes and the Islanders’ chances of winning with how good Semyon Varlamov (lower-body injury, out indefinitely) had been.
And with how Hogberg has played this season, owning a 1.45 GAA and a .947 SV% in 11 games, he was given the Islanders a chance to win every night.
Skarek is a major question mark, and the Islanders, who are in need of points, don’t really have the luxury of going to him unless they really have to.
It’s clear that Roy trusts Hogberg, so getting him back in the mix allows him to rest Sorokin without putting the team at a potential disadvantage.
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