A day that began with Islanders coach Patrick Roy admitting that Ilya Sorokin could play better began with a 4-1 blowout loss to the Hurricanes at UBS Arena. Sorokin gave up three goals in the first period, and it was a full-fledged disaster.
“Yeah, I’m not 100 percent happy with him,” Roy said Tuesday morning. “It’s obvious. And I’m sure he’s not himself.”
While far from a total rip-off, this amounted to the harshest criticism a coach has publicly leveled at Sorokin in recent memory.
And coming from someone with Roy’s status as a Hall of Fame goaltender, it carries even more weight.
When Sorokin was asked about his comments after the loss, he replied, “I don’t read the news.” “So I try to do my best. I try every day. Come to practice and do your best.”
After the Islanders played the first few minutes on the front foot, showing energy and initiative that was missing in Sunday’s 5-2 loss to the Rangers at the Garden, Seth Jarvis hit a slow-rolling shot from inside to Sorokin. scored, allowing a soft goal. The front of the right post made a noise through the pad.
“When you start moving, the puck goes into your leg,” Sorokin said. “Hey, hey. That’s reality.”
Not only was this one of the worst goals Sorokin had allowed this season, it seemed to shock both the Islanders and the crowd.
Just 2:05 later, the Hurricanes scored their second goal when Jarvis took a feed from Jake Guentzel — and it wasn’t the netminder’s fault at all — and caught four puck-watching Islanders defenders. I created a chance.
But before the horn sounded, Sorokin had another tough moment, forcing Martin Necas to clean off a rush for a power-play goal at 19:58 of the first half.
This sent the Islanders back to the locker room down 3-0 to the sound of boos from the home fans, making a comeback against the Canes nearly impossible.
“We lost. No,” Sorokin said. “That’s all I can say.”
And the Islanders could barely do enough for the next 40 minutes to win, with Kyle Palmieri’s goal early in the third period being the only points. That was negated by Guentzel’s empty netter in the second half.
Just Sunday, the Islanders simply failed to show the desperation they needed in a game that had absolutely huge implications for their playoff chances.
They continued to show a lack of neutral zone structure and puck-out ability, as Roy switched to a new combination up front midway through the game to no avail.
Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds” played over the loudspeaker in the second period, and the Islanders allowed 10 of their first 11 shots, but lost five in a row and ended the night without an immediate answer. Ta.
“We have to be positive here,” said captain Anders Lee. “We feel it. It’s not going to go our way. To end it, we have to find a way to support each other, play together and keep that energy. Let’s start the game with a lead and go from there.
“We’ve got a lot of hockey left. It’s obviously dwindling, but the race is tight. We’re in that race. We’re right there.”
The problem is, Sorokin is usually the Islanders’ trump card in these situations.
That’s why this loss is more worrying than the others.
Sorokin did indeed finish with 30 saves and was scoreless after the first period — and Roy was sure to praise his recovery from the first 20 minutes. However, the damage was done.
“I thought he came back strong in the second and third period after he scored the third goal,” Roy said. “I was really happy to see that.”
But Tuesday was the first time Sorokin seems truly lost from a confidence standpoint, and if that isn’t corrected soon, it could have disastrous implications for the Islanders’ fading playoff hopes. It will be.
Regardless of whether the Islanders are shooting fewer shots or not, their goaltending is their backbone.
Sorokin has bailed them out game after game over the past few seasons and almost single-handedly got them into the postseason last year.
No matter the standings or the play in front of him — and it got even worse on Tuesday when the Red Wings and Flyers both won, leaving the Islanders within three points of a playoff spot. –If Sorokin doesn’t find his match, which will feel nearly impossible to get there again this year.
