COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Penguins have a serious problem between the pipes heading into a potential elimination game Wednesday night on Long Island. His name is Ilya Sorokin.
Goaltending was the difference in their stunning 3-2 double overtime loss Monday, but Tristan Jarry’s moment of madness, which gifted Josh Bailey the winning goal, was just part of the story.
Game 5 at PPG Paints Arena should have been long decided before Jarry’s ill-advised stretch pass. The only reason the Islanders were in position to tie the contest in the third period and win it in OT was the 48-save masterpiece from Sorokin. It was arguably the best performance by a visiting goaltender in a winning playoff effort since John Vanbiesbrouck turned aside 39 Penguins’ shots in Game 7 of the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals.
Sorokin, who’s won all three of his playoff starts, might not have been given this opportunity had Seymon Varlamov not suffered a minor injury late in the regular season, forcing the Isles to turn to their backup in Game 1 of the series. Sorokin made 39 saves in that 4-3 overtime triumph. Fair or not, Barry Trotz’s decision to go back to Varlamov for Games 3 & 4 — a pair of Penguins’ wins — might be the only reason Monday’s marathon didn’t end with a handshake line.
The 25-year-old rookie has stopped 21 of 22 high-danger shots he’s faced at 5-v-5 in three games, according to NaturalStatTrick.com, and he owns a sterling .951 save percentage. Sorokin wasn’t tested often in the 4-1 win in Game 4, when the Islanders were at their suffocating best, but he sparkled Monday night as the Penguins came in waves, particularly in a second period which saw Pittsburgh hold a whopping 20-4 shot advantage.
Sorokin is not some unknown who washed ashore on Long Island Sound. The Islanders had been waiting for the 2014 third-round pick to fulfill his KHL commitment. Much like fellow countryman Igor Shesterkin (Rangers), Sorokin didn’t view himself as a franchise goalie of the future. He wanted to make an immediate impact. Sorokin went 13-6 in the regular season, and is 10-1 at home, including the Game 4 win.
He’s big, athletic and unfazed by the pressure of the playoffs.
Jarry, who took the reins from Matt Murray, also had a solid regular season in leading the Penguins to a division title. He struggled mightily in the postseason opener, however, and hasn’t looked in command when the Islanders have been buzzing around his crease. The Penguins can’t know what to expect from their goalie Wednesday night, but what’s almost as unnerving to them is the play of the netminder at the other end of the rink.
It’s hard to imagine Pittsburgh getting more quality looks than they did Monday when the Isles were second best by a wide margin for 2-1/2 periods. It’s the first time in the series when they truly missed Patric Hornqvist, the immovable object who caused so much chaos in front of opposition nets en route to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016-17.
If the Penguins can duplicate their Game 5 effort, generate more traffic in front of Sorokin and get a bit of puck luck, there’s a decent chance the series returns to PPG Paints Arena for Game 7. But there’s no telling how deep the scars run from Monday night’s shocking defeat.
The Penguins can no longer rely on their Stanley Cup pedigree in big games. It’s the Islanders who are the proven playoff commodity in the past two years, winners of three postseason series — four if you count the qualifying round last summer in the Toronto bubble.
Maybe Jarry rebounds with a splendid showing in Game 6, but if the Penguins can’t solve Sorokin it might not matter.
YOUR TURN: Has Islanders’ goalie Ilya Sorokin been the biggest difference in the first-round series with the Penguins?
