Now that's the way to come back from an injury. Ilya Sorokin has been out of action since December 19th with a lower body injury. His first game back was last night against the New Jersey Devils and it was a historic one. It was a 45 save shutout in a 9-0 win over the Devils. The shutout was Sorokin’s 26th in his career, all with the Islanders. Not that big a deal for most goalies. But in this instance, it is. All 26 of those shutouts have come with the Islanders, breaking the franchise record of 25. Chico Resch had the record, but that is no more.
There’s quite a bit to unpack here with all of this. First off, there’s the record itself. In the 53 year history of the Islanders franchise, thirty one goalies have recorded at least one shutout. The franchise as a whole has shut out their opponents 1398 times. Out of those 31 goalies, only three have recorded 20 or more shutouts, Billy Smith (22), Chico Resch (25) and Ilya Sorkin (26). When you think about some of the guys that have played in an Islanders sweater, that’s an eye popping number. And when you think about some of the guys that have defended the goal for the Islanders, that’s even more amazing a number.
As for the man who now has the record in Sorokin, he will go down as easily a top three goalie in the history of this franchise. He’s already 3rd in wins with 138 (and counting) as of this writing. He trails only Resch and Billy Smith for the record. Smith’s going to be hard to catch at 307 wins. Resch, who had 157, he should be able to pass if he could stay healthy. His goals against is 2.57 good for 9th in team history, the save percentage is at .916 which is good for 5th.
There’s some in the fanbase who love Sorokin, me included, while there are others who think he’s overpriced and not as good. Sure, he’s had moments when he hasn’t looked like that great a netminder. Every goalie during their career is going to have those stretches. There’s also times where he looks like he’s worth every single penny this team is paying him and then some. Sorokin has had stretches where he has carried this hockey club.
I don’t think he’s ever going to pass, or be mistaken for, Billy Smith. He can come close if he can help lead the Islanders to the promise land and win a Cup. Yes, there’s more to it than just one guy in the nets. But anybody who’s followed the game knows that great goaltending can carry a franchise. And Sorokin does have that ability, should he be able to stay healthy. And we saw that in his first game back against the Devils to break the record.
The sky is the limit for Sorokin. And I can’t wait to see where it takes him. Congratulations to Ilya Sorokin, the new Islanders shutout king!
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