Sorokin makes 23 saves, Islanders shut out Red Wings

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Ilya Sorokin made 23 saves, and the New York Islanders ended a six-game skid with a 2-0 win against the Detroit Red Wings at UBS Arena on Friday.

It was Sorokin's fourth shutout of the season, and his 14th in 109 NHL starts.
"It was a solid game," New York captain Anders Lee said. "We stepped up. We did what we had to do. This was a really solid effort from Sorokin on out."

Brock Nelson had a goal and an assist, and Kyle Palmieri had two assists for the Islanders (24-22-5), who were 0-4-2 during the skid and are 2-7-3 in their past 12 games. They host the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.
"We know we have to put some wins together, and it starts with the first one and this was it," New York coach Lane Lambert said. "It's nice to see our guys get rewarded. We've had some games where we've deserved better than we've gotten. That's tough, but tonight we got what we deserved, and it was a victory. We played well."

Magnus Hellberg made 27 saves for the Red Wings (21-19-8), who played their last game before their bye week. They return Feb. 7, when they'll host the Edmonton Oilers.
"This is exactly what we could have asked for," Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said. "We gave ourselves a chance. Probably our best push was the end of the second, and those were our best looks. We just couldn't get one past [Sorokin] then. And they were OK in the third, but obviously not enough to get one behind him."
Lee gave New York a 1-0 lead at 4:44 of the second period. Nelson sent a feed from the right face-off circle that deflected off Palmieri and Lee and got between Hellberg's skates.
Nelson made it 2-0 at 4:31 of the third period with a wrist shot from beyond the circles that found its way through traffic.
"We were moving our feet," Palmieri said. "We did a good job. They had a couple of chances in the offensive zone, but it really wasn't much. So, we just did a good job of breaking pucks out, getting up ice and getting on the forecheck. That's kind of our bread and butter as a team, and creating offense off that forecheck is how we're successful. We were able to do that tonight."

Sorokin preserved the shutout 26 seconds later when he slid across the crease to deny Filip Hronek's one-timer from the left circle.
"They make it hard," Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin said of the Islanders. "They [have] big [defensemen], they get the matchups they want [at home], and there were some times we [had] some pressure.
"We just didn't get the puck past Sorokin tonight. He made some big saves, especially in the third; the one on 'Fil' Hronek, the one on (David Perron at 4:47). It's the story of the night. Sorokin was really good."
NOTES:Sorokin has a .930 save percentage at home in his NHL career, the highest in League history among goalies who have played at least 50 games. … Lee's goal was his 400th NHL point. … The Islanders were 0-for-4 on the power play; they are 0-for-24 in the past nine games, and 3-for-63 over the past 23. They have scored two goals or fewer in 11 of 12. … Palmieri has four assists in three games after missing 27 of 28 because of an upper-body injury. … Larkin, Hronek and Red Wings forward Andrew Copp each had four shots on goal.