3 Takeaways: Sorokin and Palmieri Power 3-0 Shutout vs Rangers

The New York Islanders snapped a three-game losing streak with a 3-0 win over the rival New York Rangers on Wednesday night, their first win over their archrivals at UBS Arena.
Kyle Palmieri (2G) and Josh Bailey both scored for the Islanders, while Ilya Sorokin made 41 saves in the shutout victory, the fourth-highest save mark of his career.

The Islanders maintained their perfect penalty kill, extending the franchise record to 25 consecutive kills to start the season, and held the Rangers without a shot for the final 9:38 of the third period.
"We did a good job breaking the puck out," Palmieri said of those final minutes. "Obviously, when you struggle to do that, especially when you give them an opportunity to get an extra guy, I thought we did a good job through the neutral zone, making sure there weren't any clean plays with lots of speed coming in our way."
Despite being outshot 41-29, the Islanders made the most of their opportunities, finding their way into the dirty areas around the net and into the slot. They were buoyed by a boisterous crowd at UBS Arena, who provided an electric atmosphere for the crosstown rivals in their only meeting on Long Island this season.

SOROKIN STRONG IN SHUTOUT WIN

Ilya Sorokin started the game strong, with 17 saves in the first period. One critical save came early in the period on a Julian Gauthier breakaway, but Sorokin stayed with the Rangers forward across the net. His most impressive came on a Kaapo Kakko attempt late in the period. Sorokin stopped what looked like a sure goal with his skate and trapped it under his body.
His strong play continued into the second period, which the Islanders started on the penalty kill and then got back on the kill shortly after.
"He's an amazing goalie and he's a great teammate," Palmieri said. "He gives us a chance to win every time he's in the net. It's the same story with him. He made some unbelievable saves that that kept it at zero, especially in the first there. He just does an awesome job."
Sorokin earned the 11th shutout of his career in the 3-0 win, his first shutout against the Rangers, improving his record against the team to 3-1 all-time. The shutout is Sorokin's first of the season, and first since April 15, 2022 against Montreal.
"Every win is a good thing," Sorokin said after the game. "It doesn't matter who it's against."

PALMIERI AND BAILEY SCORE FIRST GOALS OF SEASON

While Sorokin laid the foundation for the win with his shutout, a pair of Islanders springboarded onto the scoresheet in the win, as Palmieri scored his first two goals of the season, while Bailey netted his first.
Both of Palmieri's goals came on shots from the middle of the slot, highlighting his heavy wrister. On the first goal, Ryan Pulock started the rush and entered the zone, finding Palmieri next to him. Palmieri was stripped of the puck, but it was quickly recovered by Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who tapped it right to Palmieri for the wrist shot.
Palmieri scored his second of the night late in the third period to effectively put the game out of reach at 3-0, zipping a wrister past Halak, off the net camera and out so quickly, it wasn't initially caught by the officials. Palmieri now has 10 goals in 18 career games against Halak. Pageau assisted on both goals in their second game since reuniting as linemates this season.
ISLANDERS 3, RANGERS 0
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Full Highlights
Postgame: Lambert
Postgame: Palmieri
Postgame: Sorokin
Postgame: Pageau
KINGER'S CALLS
Palmieri's First Goal
Bailey's Redirection
Palmieri's Second Goal
"We're pretty similar players," Palmieri said. "We keep it north south and get in on the forecheck and I thought Pageau and (Parise) both played great tonight. Your linemates are all going, it makes it easy on you."
Josh Bailey, in his 999th game in the NHL, scored his first goal of the year in the third period off a redirection in front of the net. Mathew Barzal worked around the zone with the puck and found Adam Pelech, who passed to Bailey in front of the net for the tap-in.

ISLANDERS LINEUP CHANGES

Anthony Beauvillier re-entered the lineup after missing Sunday's game against the Florida Panthers. Ross Johnston came out. Beauvillier returned to play with Brock Nelson and Anders Lee, recording a team-high five shots on goal.

The Islanders also made changes with the personnel already in the lineup. Pulock played the point on the second power play unit, in place of Sebastian Aho, something Pulock did frequently last year.
Oliver Wahlstrom and Bailey played alongside Barzal, while Palmieri and Zach Parise played with Pageau. Both those lines scored goals, with one each coming from Bailey and Palmieri. Pageau had two assists on Palmieri's goals.
"(Pageau and Palmieri) are both straight-line guys," Head Coach Lane Lambert said. "They both get to the net, and certainly (Palmieri) is a shooter, we saw that tonight. They're both straight line guys, they complement each other in that."

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders head back out on the road to take on the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night at PNC Arena. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.