Sorokin All Smiles in NHL Playoff Debut

Ilya Sorokin may have started
Sunday's 4-3 Game 1 OT win
with no playoff experience, but he certainly had a good experience in his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut.
Sorokin stopped 39-of-42 Penguins shots, rising to the occasion to pick up his first playoff win. In the process, he became the first Islanders

"He kept us in it," Kyle Palmieri said of Sorokin. "He's not the biggest guy but you see it every day in practice - how hard he plays and how hard he competes on the puck. For a goalie to give us a chance to win on the road and in game one, that's all you can ask for. He played a great game tonight."
Sorokin was a bit of a surprise starter for the Islanders in Game 1, as Semyon Varlamov was held out as a precaution.

That seemingly nullified the Islanders experience edge when it came to playoff goaltending, though not by much, as Sorokin's debut was only one game fewer than Tristan Jarry's second-playoff start. Trotz said Sorokin was unfazed about the prospect of starting Game 1.
"He had a smile on his face when I told him he was going to start," Trotz said. "He said, 'No problem, Coach. I'll be good tomorrow.'"
Sorokin was beyond good early on with Pittsburgh swarming ,stopping 17 of the Penguins 18 first-period shots. The 25-year-old, who was 1-1-0 against the Pens this season, made some highlight-reel saves in regulation, catching a Sidney Crosby power-play chance with his skate blade in the first period, atoning for a tripping penalty he took on Jake Guentzel. Sorokin kept the Islanders afloat while they were looking for their legs early in the second period, lunging across his net in full splits to smother Teddy Blueger's wraparound chance.
The Russian rookie also got his first taste of playoff overtime, stopping all 10 shots he saw with the game on the line. His biggest stop in OT came on Jeff Carter, arguably the hottest Penguin to finish the season, stoning him in tight in sudden death.
"I was really impressed, he made a couple of huge saves, the toe save on Sid on the power play and I thought he was really sharp on a power play late in the second period," Trotz said. "We had to get through that. In a 2-1 game, if we don't kill that power play, I think we're probably not sitting here."

It was hard to lay blame on Sorokin for the three Penguins' goals. Frederick Gaudreau capitalized on a broken play in the Isles' slot in the first, Sidney Crosby got a one-handed deflection on a Brian Dumoulin shot in the second and Kasperi Kapanen's tying goal went off the far post and in. Like getting the start, none of the goals allowed seemed to faze Sorokin, which did not surprise his teammates after a 13-6-3 rookie season.
"He was super calm before the game," JG Pageau said. "He's a goalie who is as confident as they come and you see it during practice, he's a competitive guy, never quits on any pucks and it reflects in his game, he was a huge part of that win today."
While Sunday may have been Sorokin's first NHL playoff game, he brought some valuable postseason experience from a few deep runs in the KHL with CSKA Moscow. Sorokin won a
KHL title in 2019
, an experience Trotz said likely helped him go into the NHL playoffs with confidence.
"He is as level headed a goaltender that you're going to meet," Trotz said of Sorokin's poise. "Those experiences of winning in the KHL, which is an extremely good league, he's always had success and he's a confident guy. I think it's probably a combination of both."
Varlamov, who skated on Friday and Saturday, is expected to skate on Monday, so it's unclear who will start in Game 2 on Tuesday night. Just as Sorokin projected confidence in the crease on Sunday, the Islanders have faith in both of their goaltenders and know they'll need the tandem to go far in the playoffs.
"One thing we think we have is two capable goalies," Trotz said. "If we want to have any success, we're going to need both of them."