Like most people who buy insurance, the Islanders hoped they would never need it.
But the stakes are a little higher than anyone would have liked, as Marcus Hogberg, likely to be the team's No. 3 goaltender this season, made his preseason debut on Sunday, in part because Ilya Sorokin has not participated in training camp thus far after undergoing back surgery in the offseason.
General manager Lou Lamoriello said Sorokin is not expected to miss the start of the season, but question marks about the star goaltender's health will remain until those are answered by his presence on the ice.
So Hogberg's solid performance in the first half of Sunday's 4-2 win over the Devils, in which he made 15 of 17 shots, was more remarkable than anyone would have imagined a few months ago.
“Overall it was a pretty good game and we can definitely do better,” Hogberg said. [Jesper] Bratt, point two. Five-hole.
Still, Hogberg withstood the pressure well through some dangerous moments early in the game when the Islanders struggled in the defensive zone.
Jakub Skarek, who replaced him late in the game, stopped all eight shots he saw.
“Both of them did really well,” coach Patrick Roy said. “I thought we gave away too many chances in the first half, but Hogberg played really well and held on to keep the game at 1-0. [after New Jersey scored first]He played well on the rebounds and kept the puck close to him. Skarek was out there too and I thought he did a good job as well.”
Hogberg, a 29-year-old Swede, spent the past three seasons with Linköping HC in the Swedish league and posted a .914 save percentage in 2023-24.
After playing with Ottawa from 2017-2021, he bounced frequently between the NHL team and AHL Belleville, never bettering the .904 save percentage he posted with the Senators in 2019-2020.
Introducing a reliable third goalie was high on the offseason to-do list for the Islanders, who have avoided using a third goalie the past few seasons to the point of overtaxing others in the event of injuries.
The significance of this was further amplified by the news surrounding Sorokin.
Hogberg will need to establish himself as the third player in the depth charts over a camp group that includes Skarek, Henrik Tikkanen and PTO-contract player Keith Kinkaid, but he is positioned as the favorite among that group.
The Islanders fielded a team comprised mostly of NHL players for their first preseason game.
Brock Nelson served as the top-line center with Simon Holmstrom and Kyle Palmieri on either side.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau skated between Anders Lie and Oliver Wahlstrom, while Kyle McLean skated with Maxim Tsyplakov and Julien Gautier.
