SAINT PAUL, Minn. — Ilya Sorokin’s voice was raspy. The result, he said, of a puck hitting him in the neck during morning skate, though one could be forgiven for assuming he’d succumbed to the flu that’s been making its way around the Islanders locker room.
Just one more thing he had to overcome on the way to a brilliant 33-save performance that backstopped the Islanders to a 4-3 overtime win against the Wild on Saturday.
“They were dangerous all three periods,” Sorokin said. “[Kirill] Kaprizov, I just see him. He shoots [in] my glove, I said, ‘God, thanks. Help me.’ Again, great team. We played tough.”
The Wild tilted the ice for much of the night, forcing the Islanders to come back from three different deficits, but never more so than in the third period. Sorokin made 17 of his saves in the last 20 minutes, vexing the Wild despite the dominance of Kaprizov’s line, as well as superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes.
“He’s proven time and time again that he’s the best goalie in the league. By far,” said Simon Holmstrom, who had three points including the overtime winner. “Both him and [David] Rittich are the reason we’re here this year. They’ve been massive for us.”
Don’t look now. But as of Saturday morning, Sorokin was the betting favorite to get officially recognized as the best goalie in the league by winning the Vezina Trophy for the first time.
In both of his two games since returning from a brief absence due to a lower-body injury, Sorokin has been the best player on the ice for the Islanders.
“You’re not winning in Minnesota without goaltending,” coach Patrick Roy said. “This is a really good hockey team. So we needed everybody to play solid. I thought he made some great saves, but I thought our guys did a nice job clearing the netfront for him.”
All four of the Islanders forward lines looked different against the Wild, and they made one change on defense, bringing Adam Boqvist back into the lineup for Cole McWard, who sat as a healthy scratch.
Anthony Duclair moved up to the top line with Anders Lee and Mathew Barzal. Cal Ritchie centered Jonathan Drouin and Emil Heineman on the second line.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau played between Max Shabanov and Simon Holmstrom as the third line. And on the fourth, Maxim Tsyplakov drew in for Kyle MacLean, skating with Casey Cizikas and Marc Gatcomb.
Interestingly, Roy demurred when asked if he was wanted to find an endpoint with the lineup.
“We try to adjust to the team we play against,” Roy said before the game. “Tonight we’re playing against [Minnesota], they’re tied for second overall in the NHL. This is a very good hockey team. We’re balancing our lines.”
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