Islanders goalie change backfires as Hurricanes go up 3-0

ELMONT, N.Y. — The New York Islanders‘ Ilya Sorokin got the start in Game 3 as a rested goalie seeking to give his team a fresh start after trailing the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0 in their opening-round series.

But things turned rotten quickly for Sorokin. He gave up three goals on 14 shots before he was pulled 7:14 into the second period. Semyon Varlamov, who started the first two games of the series, stopped all eight shots he faced in relief, but it wasn’t enough: The Hurricanes defeated the Islanders 3-2 on Thursday, and New York now faces elimination Saturday afternoon at UBS Arena.

Coach Patrick Roy, who made the decision to start Sorokin, refused to directly address his goalie’s performance in Game 3.

“I’m going to say this: We win and we lose as a team. So I’m not going to go there. But what I’m going to say is sometimes we make changes as a coach because we feel we just want to change the momentum in the game. I’ll leave it at that,” said Roy, who had a Hall of Fame career as an NHL goaltender.

When asked how getting pulled could impact Sorokin’s confidence, Roy deflected again.

“Right now I’m focusing more on the team than focusing on our goalie,” he said.

Varlamov started the Islanders’ first two playoff games in Raleigh, posting a .905 save percentage and a 3.03 goals-against average. He gave up six goals on 63 shots. That included two goals in the span of nine seconds in Game 2, as the Hurricanes tied it and took the lead in shocking fashion during the third period.

Roy justified making the goalie change Thursday because Varlamov had faced 39 shots in Game 2 and the Islanders intended to use both goalies in the postseason.

Varlamov said he respected Roy’s decision to bench him for Game 3, even after he was called back into action following Sorokin’s removal.

“I trust Patrick on the decisions he makes,” Varlamov said. “He’s a head coach. We have to respect any decisions they make as a coaching staff.”

Sorokin, 28, got the majority of starts this season, appearing in 56 games to Varlamov’s 28. But Varlamov, 35, won seven of his last eight starts to lead the Islanders to a playoff berth in April, and earned the crease to begin the playoffs.

Carolina scored against Sorokin just 4:46 into Game 3 as a Brent Burns shot deflected off an Islanders defender’s stick. Defenseman Dmitry Orlov made it 2-0 at 10:25 on a shot that Sorokin couldn’t get…