With Semyon Varlamov on IR for the Islanders’ first six games of the 2021-22 NHL Season, Ilya Sorokin has stepped up as the starting goaltender. Sorokin was exceptional in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season and has already started setting records this season. Therefore, Ilya Sorokin has proven he has what it takes to be the Islanders’ starting goalie. 

2020-21 NHL Playoffs

In the 2020-21 NHL Playoffs, Sorokin played in a total of seven games. Of the seven, he started in five games and went 4-1. The four games that he won were the four victories that the Islanders needed to eliminate the Pittsburgh Penguins and advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

In his seven games played, Sorokin had a goals against average of 2.79 and a save percentage of .922.  

2021-22 NHL Season

So far, Sorokin has played in every game this season. His record is currently 3-2-2. In seven games, Sorokin has a goals against average of 2.26 and a save percentage of .931. He has even recorded two shutouts. 

On Oct. 23 and 24, the Islanders had back-to-back games against the Arizona Coyotes and the Vegas Golden Knights. With Sorokin in net, the Isles beat Arizona 3-0 and Vegas 2-0. Ilya Sorokin became the first goalie in Islanders’ franchise history to post a shutout on consecutive days. 

Additionally, for the week of Oct. 18 to Oct. 24, Sorokin was named the NHL’s Third Star of the Week. That week he had a record of 3-0-1, a goals against average of 0.99 and two shutouts. 

 Semyon Varlamov

There’s no doubt that Semyon Varlamov is a great goalie. He got the Islanders to the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2019-20 NHL season and he was a huge part of the Islanders’ success in the 2020-21 season. Prior to the start of this season, ESPN ranked all 32 goalie tandems in the NHL. The Islanders earned the top spot.

Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov of the Islanders were ranked as the number one goalie tandem in the NHL by ESPN (Photo courtesy of The New York Post).

Even though Varlamov is a huge asset for the Isles, it is Sorokin’s time to shine. In hockey, they always say to “ride the hot goalie.” This means that if a goaltender is performing well, leave them in, regardless of how talented the other netminder may be. This is what happened to Thomas Greiss in the 2019-20 NHL season and eventually led to him signing with the Detroit Red Wings.  

Greiss started the season off as the Islanders’ main goaltender and brought in 16 wins for the team. He was, and still is, a great goalie. However, when Varlamov got the opportunity to be in net and performed just as well, he got the spot as the starting goaltender.  

Ilya Sorokin Is the Future

That Ilya Sorokin save though… 👀 pic.twitter.com/rPPvCcqtQQ

— NHL (@NHL) October 30, 2021

Sorokin has put up phenomenal statistics for someone who only has one year of experience in the NHL. He is also still young at only 26 years old, and extremely athletic. Sorokin is a huge reason why the Islanders were able to come away with at least one point in their last five games. With the Isles’ defense struggling this year, it is super important that the team has a reliable goalie to back them up when all else fails – and Ilya Sorokin is that guy. Sorokin has shown he has what it takes to be the Islanders’ starting goaltender.

Maisy Healy

I am a huge Islanders fan and love spreading my passion for the team here at Drive4Five.  Along with writing, I also co-manage the Drive4Five TikTok and Facebook accounts.