Sorokin’s fall back to earth continues.
The Islanders lost an ugly one at home, though they felt they played well better than the final score. But a 5-1 loss at home to the Rangers is a 5-1 loss at home to Rangers. Nothing good or “if only” about that.
They were down 3-1 after the first and it was 5-1 after 40 minutes, with Ilya Sorokin allowing five goals on just 11 shots before getting pulled. Sure, there were deflections and bounces, but…even Matt Rempe scored, on one of those deflections.
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Patrick Roy’s opinion – and players seem to agree – was #Isles were the better team tonight. But they didn’t get enough traffic in front of Igor Shesterkin and couldn’t finish their chances. And they were the victim of some bad bounces.
As John Belushi said…”Nothing is over.”
— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) February 26, 2025
Ilya Sorokin talked about deflections in front of him but said it comes down to him having to do a better job.
— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) February 26, 2025
Ryan Pulock and Scott Perunovich were an impressive minus-4 on the night. Adam Boqvist was back in the lineup after a one-game scratch, replacing Scott Mayfield.
Alex Romanov got the only Islanders goal, on a shot through the traffic that was all too rare in this game.
ALEX ROMANOV TIES IT UP pic.twitter.com/0D21RawpP3
— Islanders Videos (@SNY_Islanders) February 26, 2025
There was just one penalty per side, with the power plays moot.
The Isles have now lost four in a row in regulation, the cruel backswing of the pendulum that befalls a mediocre team. Sorokin, whose hot run was so critical to their 8-1 run that preceded this, has allowed 18 goals during this four-game slump.
Not a coincidence.
Up Next
The Islanders are in Boston on Thursday. They trail the Bruins by five points but with two games in hand.