Islanders' Game 5 key was Ilya Sorokin and his 48 saves
Ilya Sorokin of the Islanders makes a save against the Penguins during the first overtime period in Game 5 at PPG PAINTS Arena on Monday in Pittsburgh. Credit: Getty Images/Emilee Chinn
The crisp white sweaters did have the Islanders logo on them, but other than that, for 2 ½ periods, the visiting team at PPG Paints Arena was unrecognizable on Monday night.
That was before a series of plot twists in Game 5 of a first-round playoff series against the Penguins turned what looked like a dispiriting dud into a potentially season-defining triumph.
Thanks mostly to a brilliant performance by rookie goaltender Ilya Sorokin, the Islanders escaped Pittsburgh by stealing a 3-2, double-overtime victory on Josh Bailey’s goal 51 seconds into the second extra period.
Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry attempted a long clearing pass that Bailey intercepted and sent back past Jarry.
The Islanders lead the series, 3-2, and can end it at Nassau Coliseum on Wednesday night.
Game 5 was another example of their habit of slow starts in this series, and another example of the veteran poise that has gotten them this far.
"Just to leave it all out there and get rewarded for our work and just to stick with it is an amazing feeling," Jean-Gabriel Pageau said.
Sorokin is 3-0 in the series, and thus 3-0 in his NHL playoff career. He is the presumed No. 1 goaltender of the near future, but he also has become the No. 1 goaltender of the present.
"Couldn’t have done it without Ilya, obviously," Anthony Beauvillier said.
"Outstanding," coach Barry Trotz said. "I can use all the [words] that you want to write. They all will apply."
Trotz said he delivered a blunt message when his team trailed 2-1 at the second intermission: "Enough is enough, boys."
Then Jordan Eberle tied the score at 8:50 of the third period, which seemed finally to rouse the Islanders from their gamelong slumber.
For most of the night, everyone — including the Islanders themselves — surely wondered what happened to the guys who routed the Pens, 4-1, on Saturday at the Coliseum.
Where was the hitting? The lockdown defense? The veteran savvy? Gone.
The only thing that kept the score from not being worse was Sorokin.
The Islanders would have been happy to trail by only one after how things went in the first period, but they did better than that, thanks to a fantastic individual effort by Beauvillier.
With the Penguins’ defenders caught up ice and Jake Guentzel left to fend for himself, Beauvillier went around him with speed and a nifty move, then beat Jarry high to his stick side with 54.4 seconds left.
(Am I allowed to say Beauvillier’s move around Guentzel reminded me of Trae Young’s move around the Knicks’ Frank Ntilikina on Sunday night? Too soon?)
Shortly after killing off a penalty, the Penguins regained the lead when Bryan Rust scored at 7:37 of the second, beating Sorokin on a long blast that seemed to catch the rookie set up too deeply in his crease.
At one point, the Penguins were outshooting the Islanders 17-1 in the second period. By the middle of the third, they had a 40-15 edge in shots for the game.
Then Eberle scored on the Islanders’ first shot of the period.
It began with a forecheck of Brian Dumoulin by Pageau, which created an opening for Leo Komarov to set up Eberle for a score over a sprawling Jarry.
Trotz said it is impossible to know what a defining moment for a season is until the season is over. But Eberle’s goal, and Sorokin’s saves, helped ensure it will not be over on Wednesday night.
"To me, that’s what good teams do," Trotz said. "When you’re not at your best, you find a way to hang in there. You find a way to win. That to me shows a lot of character to our group."
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
