3 Takeaways: Sorokin Steps Up in Shootout Win

It's not often that the first star of a 5-4 game is a goaltender, but that was the case on Tuesday night.
Ilya Sorokin earned first star of the game honors after stopping a career-high 43 shots - and three more in the shootout - in the New York Islanders win over the Pittsburgh Penguins to open up a home-and-home set.
It was less a case of how many saves Sorokin made, but when he made them, at least according to Head Coach Barry Trotz. After stopping 40-of-44 in regulation, Sorokin saved some of his best stuff for overtime, where he kicked out a pad to rob Jason Zucker in front of the net and then later flashed the glove on a Jake Guentzel redirection on a Rickard Rakell shot. The save denied Guentzel a hat-trick, as the Penguin compiled three points (2G, 1A) in the game.

"You can look at numbers and all that, but can you make a timely save, can you make a save when the game is on the line?" Trotz said.
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Sorokin did just that before going a perfect three-for-three in the shootout, stopping Guentzel and Sidney Crosby while watching the puck roll off Kris Letang's stick in the third round. The shootout win was Sorokin's first this season after start the year 0-4, allowing seven goals on 10 shots.
Even on the Penguins four goals, Sorokin was hard to fault on at least three. Guentzel's first of the night came at the end of a frenzy around the crease to make it 1-0. Danton Heinen tapped in a backdoor feed from Kasperi Kapanen that left Sorokin with no chance in the second period, while Jeff Carter's power-play goal was a deflection off a Guentzel shot. Perhaps the only one Sorokin wanted back was Guentzel's second, a wrist shot that snuck through traffic and the Isles netminder at the end of a long shift in the defensive zone.
With the win, Sorokin improved to 13-4-3 at home and to 24-14-7 on the season.
"He's a butterfly goalie but he reacts really well," Zach Parise said. "In practices, honestly, he reminds me a lot like a lot of Marty [Brodeur] with his competitiveness. And you know, Marty was like that were first shot, initial shot, rebound, like he did not want you to score regardless in practice and Sorokin is a lot like that. It's challenging as a shooter, but it makes you a better shooter. And it's, it's fun to have one of those guys in that."

PARISE AND BAILEY POWER OFFENSE:

While Sorokin backstopped Tuesday's win, Zach Parise and Josh Bailey powered the offense with a pair of goals apiece.
Parise owned the first period on Tuesday night, netting a power-play goal and a shorthanded goal in the opening 20. Tuesday marked the first time in Parise's 1,132-game career that he'd scored on the power play and down a man in the same game.
Both goals came in similar fashion, with Parise burying a couple of cross-ice feeds off the rush. Mathew Barzal found Parise at the right faceoff dot and the 37-year-old roofed a shot high short side on Casey DeSmith at 9:10 to tie the score 1-1. Less than three minutes later, JG Pageau led a shorthanded rush up the ice before feeding Parise for a backdoor tap in.
The two-goal game was Parise's second as an Islander - and first since Feb. 22 in Seattle. Per Greg Picker, Parise is the first Islanders player since Frans Nielsen on Feb. 23, 2016 to score a power-play goal and a shorthanded goal in the same game.
Parise nearly had a third goal in the period, but was robbed by DeSmith on a backdoor feed from Barzal with the game tied 0-0. Barzal did some nifty work in the Penguins' zone, curling off Sidney Crosby before feeding Parise.
"You're happy for him because he's plays multiple roles for our team and important ones and you want those guys to get rewarded," Trotz said of Parise. "So he plays the right way. That's to me why he's had success, why he's a good pro and why he's here."
Bailey also had his first two-goal game since March 11, giving the Islanders a 3-1 and 4-3 lead respectively. Bailey was in the right place at the right time in both instances, slapping a Penguins turnover far side on DeSmith at 19:22 of the first period for his first. The winger was virtually untouched on his second goal, corralling another turnover before backhanding a shot past DeSmith to break a then 3-3 tie.

SPECIAL TEAMS STREAK ENDS:

The Islanders penalty killing streak reached 24 straight kills before allowing a power-play goal in the third period of Tuesday's game.
The Islanders killed off their first three penalties, but Guentzel's shot caromed off Jeff Carter in front of the net and past Sorokin to tie the score 4-4 at 5:38 of the third. The PK came through when it mattered most though, killing off a four-on-three penalty in overtime. Overall, the Islanders penalty kill went 4-for-5 on the evening with the team's fourth shorthanded goal of the season.
The Islanders power play went 1-for-3 on the evening, as Parise scored his first goal moments after Matt Martin exited the box. The power play had a pair of glorious chances with the game tied 4-4 in the third period, but Brock Nelson was denied by a sprawling DeSmith, while Anthony Beauvillier put a shot off the outside of the post.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders and Penguins wrap up a home-and-home set on Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.