New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin entered Tuesday’s game playing the best hockey he’s played through the first four games of a season,
After stopping 32 of 35 in a 4-3 overtime win against the New Jersey Devils on Friday night, he owned a 1.74 GAA with a .936 SV% through four starts.
Related: Islanders Goalie Ilya Sorokin Is Off To The Best Four-Game Start Of His Career
On Tuesday night, Sorokin’s elite start to the season continued, turning aside 19 of 21 shots and doing everything he could to help keep his team in the game.
The result was a 3-1 loss, the last of the Ducks’ goal an empty-netter.
While winning is the most important thing to Sorokin and the Islanders, the fact that he has now stopped 122 of the first 131 shots he’s seen this season is an incredible feat, equating to a .931 SV%.
He also owns a 1.80 GAA.
Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Per Islanders statistician Eric Hornick, Sorokin has allowed nine goals through five games, the fewest ever for him in that span to start a season.
It’s the first time he’s ever allowed fewer than 11.
Sorokin sits fourth in the NHL in GAA, sixth in SV% for goalies who have played in four or more games, and has a Goals Saved Above Expected (GSAE) of 4.5, which is seventh best in the NHL, per MoneyPuck.com.
The 29-year-old will get the night off on Wednesday with the Islanders battling the Columbus Blue Jackets on the second leg of a back-to-back.
Expect Sorokin to be in between the pipes on Friday night against the Sabres in Buffalo.