EAST MEADOW, NY — New York Islanders netminder Ilya Sorokin has been struggling lately.
After winning seven straight games, Sorokin is 0-4-0 in his last four games with a 4.5 GAA and an .818 SV%, getting yanked from the net after allowing five goals on 11 shots in their 5-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Tuesday.
“Today, I tried to find the puck but it was hard today,” Sorokin said after Sunday’s loss. “I will have to ask the goalie coach. I try to play aggressively, but it did not help me.”
After working with goalie coach Piero Greco ahead of Wednesday’s practice, Sorokin got some tips from his head coach Patrick Roy, one of the greatest goaltenders to ever play.
It was unique, as Roy told us that he wouldn’t be hands-on with his goaltenders when he arrived. He’d help with the mental side of things, but he’d rather let the goalie coaches do their job.
After practice, Roy spoke about Sorokin’s game and about their talk on the ice.
“I just want him to trust his instincts,” Roy said. “I’m not going to tell him how to play, how to make a save. I just want Ilya to trust his instincts. He’s a great goalie. He’s a smart guy. I mean, just trust your instinct, trust yourself. It’s too easy when things are not going the way you want. You let that affect you, and he should not let that affect himself. He should go out there and trust what he does.
“He knows he’s a good goalie. We all know he’s a good goalie. It’s just for him to trust what he does and play with that swagger.”
One thing that’s always seemed to trip Sorokin up, and many goaltenders around the NHL, is traffic in front. Every shot, most goalies have to look through a few bodies to find the puck, with the chance of deflections as high as ever.
Sorokin looked a bit flustered on Tuesday night, especially with the 6’8, 255-pound Matt Rempe standing right in front of him.
“I look at the goals. I mean, they would have been big saves between you and I,” Roy said. “They were pretty good tips. But, again, it’s part of the game. If you watch all the goals that were scored last night, there’s a lot of tip goals. It’s getting more and more challenging for the goaltenders and they they gonna have to find ways to stop those ones.
“I mean, it’s a big part of the game. It’s a big part of our scoring goals. We watch all the games. There are at least two, three per game.”
When Sorokin is at the top of his game, like we saw on the Islanders’ seven-game winning streak, he’s aggressive. He’s fighting through screens, which allows him to control his rebounds.
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But, when Sorokin gets away from his game, he struggles with all of the above.
If the Islanders are going to do the “unthinkable”, go on that late-season run to sneak into the postseason, Sorokin has to be the MVP of the team.
He’ll get the nod against the Boston Bruins on Thursday night at 7 PM ET, a chance to right the ship.
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