Sorokin helped the Islanders beat Montreal
06:40
The Russian goalkeeper is one of the best players of the season in the NHL.
NHL. Regular season
Islanders 4-2 Montreal (2:1, 1:1, 1:0)
Goals: Nelson – 35 (Palmieri, Pelek), 10:26 – 1:0. Pitlik – 6 (Evans), 17:38 – 1:1. Fashing – 10 (Paris, Pazho), 18:57 – 2:1. Nelson – 36 (Dobson, Mayfield), 30:20 – 3:1. Suzuki – 25 (men), 36:38 – 3:2. Lee – 28 (bol., Aho, Dobson), 56:00 – 4:2.
Goalkeepers: Sorokin – Montembo (58:36).
Penalty: 4 — 8.
Throws: 35 (10+18+7) — 19 (8+6+5).
Our: — – Guryanov (14.05/2/0).
April 13th. NY. UBS Arena.
The Islanders did not repeat the fatal mistake of Pittsburgh, which committed suicide the day before and lost to the hopeless outsider Chicago (2:5). The New York team put the squeeze on Montreal and two years later made it to the playoffs of the Eastern Conference.
There can be no two opinions on who made this task a reality – this is goalkeeper Ilya Sorokin. Without his phenomenal performance throughout the entire season, the Islanders would surely only be aiming for a high pick in the next draft.
The Russian rescued in a couple of moments, but he did not have to stand on his head in the last meeting of the regular season. Hockey players “Penguins” from hopelessness could believe as much as they wanted in “Montreal” devoid of any tournament motivation. The Canadian club suffered five defeats in the previous six matches and was not going to jump above its head for the sake of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and their comrades. Islanders second-in-command to Sorokin, forward Brock Nelson completed a quick attack with a great wrist shot.
Not all hockey players of the New York team coped with the pressure. Her best shooting guard, Noah Dobson, made a loss in his zone and allowed Montreal to equalize with the efforts of forward Rem Pitlik. Nervous for the outcome of the match, the fans of the owners had a little bit. That stretch was 79 seconds of playing time at the end of the first period, separating the Canadiens’ first goal and the Islanders’ second goal by forward Hudson Fasching.
In a single hockey game, as in normal life, anything can happen. But not at this time. Sorokin, to whom some of the North American experts are now ready to give the title of the best goalkeeper of the season, had little work. And in order to feel calm to the rest, the team has Nelson. The experienced American scored a double, bringing his league goals record to a respectable 36. The 31-year-old striker set a personal best on points (75).
Montreal was still showing signs of life, and Pittsburgh could get the impression that a miracle was possible. This required the victory of the guests in regular time. Canadiens jet forward Nick Suzuki scored a great shorthanded puck, taking advantage of defenseman Samuel Bolduc and Sorokin’s inconsistency to close the gap to a minimum.
There was still a whole period ahead. But the Islanders are very good when it comes to keeping the lead and drying up the game. The team’s defensive style is perfect for this task. It was impossible to believe that Sorokin would fail twice more. The hosts endured, scored again and did not let Pittsburgh into the playoffs, where the team had been out for 16 years in a row until this season.
