Islanders coach Barry Trotz says starting Ilya Sorokin was the plan all along
Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin reacts after a goal by Washington Capitals right wing Daniel Sprong in the third period of an NHL hockey game at Nassau Coliseum on Saturday, April 24, 2021. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The plan was always to start rookie goalie Ilya Sorokin on Saturday, but he had some shaky moments in the Islanders’ 6-3 loss to the Capitals at Nassau Coliseum.
Semyon Varlamov had made 28 saves in Thursday’s 1-0 shootout loss to the Capitals and also had a shutout in the teams’ previous game, stopping 29 shots in a 1-0 win at the Coliseum on April 6.
"We had talked about it quite a while ago that this would be Ilya’s game," Barry Trotz said. "We didn’t change. Ilya played a real strong game his last game. So I’m not too concerned."
Sorokin made 30 saves in a 1-0 overtime win in Philadelphia this past Sunday.
Zajac back in
Trotz put Travis Zajac on Mathew Barzal’s top line after the former Devil was a healthy scratch Thursday. It marked the first time in his 1,032 NHL games that Zajac had been a healthy scratch for reasons other than resting for the playoffs.
Leo Komarov came out for Zajac. Trotz said Komarov, who was bruised, was available if necessary. "Give Leo a day or two," Trotz said. "There’s nothing that’s serious. He’s just got some nagging stuff."
No. 1,600 for Chara
Capitals defenseman Zdeno Chara, 44, became the 13th player in NHL history to reach 1,600 games played.
The first 231 of those came with the Islanders after the 6-9 Slovakian was selected in the third round in 1996. But in 2001, then-general manager Mike Milbury sent Chara, Bill Muckalt and a first-round pick — which turned into Jason Spezza at No. 2 overall — to the Senators for Alexei Yashin.
Back-to-back losses
The Islanders fell to 19-3-3 at Nassau Coliseum as they lost consecutive home games for the first time this season.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
