Islanders’ Ilya Sorokin Becomes Fifth Goalie In Franchise History To Play 200 Games – Hockey Writers – New York Islanders

New York Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin became the fifth goalie in franchise history to play 200 career games with the team in tonight’s (Nov. 5) game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The 28-year-old owns a 98-68-31 record, a 2.53 goals-against average (GAA), and a .919 save percentage (SV%) in five NHL seasons, all on Long Island.

ILYA SOROKIN 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏#NHLGoalieWeek pic.twitter.com/HNBRy6EhM6

– New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) August 27, 2024

The Islanders selected Sorokin in the third round (No. 78) of the 2014 NHL Draft. After an outstanding career in the Kontinental Hockey League where he was selected to the All-Star Game in five consecutive seasons (2015-16 to 2019-20), he signed a one-year contract on July 13, 2020, with the Islanders. He went 13-6-3 with a 2.17 GAA, .918 SV%, and three shutouts in 22 games his rookie season when he primarily sat behind Varlamov.

Sorokin is in one year of an eight-year, $66 million contract signed on July 1, 2023. Through seven games this season, he owns a 3-3-1 record, 2.29 GAA, and .922 SV%. After back surgery last season and missing the entire preseason, he stopped 32 of 34 shots in his season opener on Oct. 14 against the Colorado Avalanche.

With game number 200 underway, Sorokin joins Billy Smith, Rick DiPietro, Glenn Resch, and Kelly Hrudey as the only goaltenders to reach the milestone with the Islanders. Notably, Thomas Greiss ended his Islanders season just after reaching this mark at 193 games, while current Islander Semyon Varlamov stands at 168 games played and has more than two years left on his contract.