Sorokin makes 20 saves, Islanders shut out Penguins

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Ilya Sorokin made 20 saves for his second straight shutout, and the New York Islanders defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-0 at Nassau Coliseum on Sunday.

It was Sorokin's fifth NHL start and first since Feb. 16, when he made 20 saves in his first win, 3-0 at the Buffalo Sabres.
Sorokin is the first Islanders rookie to have consecutive shutouts since Glenn "Chico" Resch in December 1975. It was the first time the Islanders shut out the Penguins since Kelly Hrudey made 27 saves in a 9-0 win Jan. 9, 1986.
"The defense, forwards blocked a lot of shots and gave a lot of help and energy to me," Sorokin said. "It's all teamwork."

Oliver Wahlstrom had a goal and an assist for the Islanders (11-6-4), who salvaged a split of a two-game set and are the only NHL team without a regulation loss at home (7-0-2). Josh Bailey had two assists.
"It's been awesome," Wahlstrom said. "Every time I see my name in the lineup, it's really eye-opening. I really take that to heart. It's unbelievable to be in this locker room with these guys. I get confidence from everybody in this locker room, so it's been unbelievable so far."
Casey DeSmith made 28 saves for the Penguins (11-8-1), who lost for the first time in their past five games against the Islanders. Pittsburgh won 4-3 in overtime here Saturday.
"We played [them] last night, we know it's a great team to play against," Penguins center Evgeni Malkin said. "They play hard in the D zone, but for sure [that] was not our game. … It was a really slow start."
Wahlstrom gave New York a 1-0 lead on the power play when he one-timed Nick Leddy's pass at the left face-off circle at 19:20 of the first period. The goal extended Wahlstrom's point streak to four games (two goals, three assists). He leads NHL rookies with five power-play points (one goal, four assists).
"His confidence just continues to grow and he gets better and better," Bailey said of Wahlstrom. "He obviously has that big shot, and we all saw it tonight."
The Penguins did not have a shot on goal until Sorokin made a glove save on Pierre-Olivier Joseph from the left circle at 15:51 of the first period.
New York outshot Pittsburgh 9-2 in the first.
"If you talk to any goaltender or goaltending coach, they'll tell you one of the toughest games to play is when you haven't been busy," Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. "It's easy to sort of let your mind wander and all that, and I think Ilya did a really good job."

Jared McCann nearly tied it for the Penguins in the opening minute of the second period, but his one-timer off a face-off in the left circle hit the goal post.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau made it 2-0 at 14:56 of the second when he one-timed Bailey's feed from the right circle for a power-play goal.
The Penguins have allowed a power-play goal in 15 of their 20 games.
"It's just something we have to keep getting better at and work on," Pittsburgh defenseman John Marino said. "Obviously, that's a struggle right now and something we definitely need to improve on."
The Islanders finished 2-for-5 with the man-advantage.
"That power play just moved it around; they took what was available," Trotz said.
Sorokin preserved the two-goal lead late in the second period with pad saves against Sidney Crosby at 18:11 and Jake Guentzel at 18:36 during a Penguins power play. He made 10 saves in the third.
"It's been a pleasure to play with him," Bailey said of Sorokin. "I think he's a real competitor, works incredibly hard and he's a fun guy to play in front of."
NOTES: It was Sorokin's first start at home. … Penguins defenseman Kris Letang's four-game point streak ended (four goals, three assists). … DeSmith started for the first time since Feb. 11, a 4-3 win against the Islanders. Pittsburgh goalie Tristan Jarry started the seven games that followed. … Leddy extended his point streak to four games (five assists). He has eight assists in the past eight games. … The Islanders are 19-2-3 in the second half of back to backs since Trotz became coach at the start of the 2018-19 season.