ELMONT, NY — New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin has quickly climbed the franchise’s goaltending ranks, hitting a career milestone on Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Once the puck was dropped at the center ice to signal the start of the first period, Sorokin reached the 200 games-played milestone.
Sorokin battled late in the game to force overtime and, in the shootout, made all three saves that came his way to get the win.
He stopped Kris Letang to send the UBS Arena folks home happy:
The other four goaltenders to accomplish in 200 games for the Islanders are Billy Smith (674), Rick DiPietro (318), Chico Resch (282), and Kelly Hrudey (241).
Sorokin’s record in his 200 games is 98-68-31. This includes 18 shutouts, which puts him third behind Smith and Resch.
His Russian counterpart, Semyon Varlamov, could become the sixth Islanders goaltender to reach 200 games, as he currently has 168 appearances with the team. Right now, Varlamov is in year two of a four-year contract.
Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images
Thomas Griess was one of the most recent Islanders goaltenders to reach 200 appearances but just fell short. The now-retired German goaltender played in 193 games for Long Island.
Sorokin was an NHL All-Star in 2023, the same year he was the runner-up for the Vezina Trophy (2.34 GAA, .924 SV%).
So far, through eight starts, he owns a 2.35 GAA with a .921 SV%.
One milestone down, and many more to go. His eight-year contract extension has just begun.
