The Islanders might be able to breathe a little easier about Ilya Sorokin.
Things finally appear to be trending in the right direction for the star netminder after a messy start to the season in which Sorokin gave up four or more goals in each of his first four starts and goaltending coach Piero Greco was axed after just six games.
Over his last two games in particular — a a shootout loss to the Bruins on Tuesday — the difference in Sorokin’s game was highly noticeable. He was far more aggressive in his crease, had better angles and did not get beat on anything easy. That was thanks in no small part to the work he’s done with Sergei Naumovs, his personal goalie coach who took over the role for the Islanders after Greco was let go.
“I feel like he’s aggressive out there,” coach Patrick Roy said after Tuesday’s game. “He challenged the shooters. It was bad luck [on the goals]. The first goal hits our skate and went in, and the second one was a beautiful play by them.