3 Takeaways: Sorokin's Seventh Shutout Leads Isles Over Habs

Emotions were high on both sides of Friday night's New York Islanders-Montreal Canadiens matchup.
The Islanders were motivated to get a win in Mike Bossy's memory, as the legendary Isles forward - and Montreal native - passed away on Friday morning.
Across the ice, the Canadiens were amped up by the return of Carey Price, who was playing his first game since last summer's Stanley Cup Final.

Centre Bell was charged up from get-go, but it was Ilya Sorokin's cool that won the day, as the goaltender made a career-high 44 saves in a 3-0 shutout win.
"Mike was a class act and meant a lot to our community and Long Island and did a lot of good things on and off the ice," Josh Bailey, the longest-tenured Islander, said. "It tough to hear that news. Obviously your condolences, thoughts and prayers with his family friends and loved ones at this time. That was difficult to hear I think we were certainly motivated tonight. Obviously they were as well. But it's nice to get a get a big one here. Sorokin, what more can you say."

SOROKIN STEALS SHOW IN SURPRISE START:

Sorokin was a surprise starter on Friday night, as Semyon Varlamov, who was the expected starter on the second night of a back-to-back, missed the game with a non-covid illness.
ISLANDERS 3, CANADIENS 0
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KINGER'S CALLS
Parise Buries Barzal Feed
Dobson Scores 11th
Kinger Calls the Win
Sorokin was more than solid, showing no sign of fatigue as he made a career-high 44 saves for his seventh shutout of the season, which tied Chico Resch (1975-76) and Semyon Varlamov (2020-21) for the most in a single season in team history.
"It's pretty cool to see Sorokin just you know at the top of almost every leaderboard he's in the top five of the stats and there hasn't been enough Vezina [Trophy] talk really I think," Mathew Barzal said. "With the season we've had, and there's some unfortunate balances, I think our record wouldn't be the same without him and Varly. Obviously, Ilya's stats are super good. It's one thing to win, but it's another thing just to get the credibility of a nomination, I think he's very deserving of that."
This marked the second time this season Sorokin had started on back-to-back days after shutting out the Arizona Coyotes and Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 23 and 24. Varlamov also started back-to-back games this season, beating the Columbus Blue Jackets on March 31, before shutting out the New York Rangers on April 1.
Head Coach Barry Trotz joked he should start goalies on consecutive days more often.
"Maybe it's just like when you get in the groove," Trotz said. "You've seen a lot of pucks in the last two games. So there must be coming in like softballs for him because he's had a lot of batting practice in the last two days."
With the win, Sorokin improved to 25-15-7, with a 2.29 GAA, a .928 SV% and seven shutouts. Sorokin is fourth in GAA, second in SV% and second in shutouts this season.

ROPE-A-DOPE RESULTS IN WIN:

Trotz entered the postgame media room talking about his admiration for Muhammad Ali, so it was fair to say the Islanders played a little rope-a-dope against the Canadiens on Friday.
The Islanders absorbed the Canadiens' best shot through two periods, managing to stay in a 0-0 game - largely thanks to Sorokin - despite being outshot 30-12 over that span.
The shot disadvantage was more due to road weariness than any sort of set strategy, but the Islanders scored on their first two shots of the third period and quickly changed the complexion of the game.
The Islanders opened the scoring at 4:25, as Zach Parise finished off a three-on-none rush with Mathew Barzal and Kieffer Bellows. The goal was Parise's fourth in the past three games and gave the veteran winger his first three-game goal streak since Apr. 14-17, 2021.
The Islanders followed up the three-on-one rush with a goal on their next shot, as Noah Dobson snapped a wrister far side on Price at 6:09.
"We got outplayed, but I don't think we got out committed," Trotz said. "And that's part of the DNA of the group that they are a resilient group and even though the tanks were low in the third I thought, you know, they said let's have a push. We can do this. It showed a lot of determination or a lot of heart."
The goal was Dobson's 11th of the season, which ties Nick Leddy (2016-17) for most from an Islanders defenseman in the past 10 years. Brock Nelson eventually iced the game with his team-leading 34th of the season, as he continues to add to his career-high.

EXTRA MOTIVATION:

They were also motivated to win for their equipment manager, Scott Boggs, who was working his 2,000th Islanders game - and massage therapist, Jim Miccio, who was working his 1,000th.
"I think the guys recognize that the team, it's not just the 20 guys on the ice, or 23 on the roster," Trotz said. "It's those people behind the scenes and that was to me it says a lot about the group."

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders wrap up their three-game road trip on Sunday night in Toronto against the Maple Leafs. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m.