3 Takeaways: Sorokin, Islanders Blank Flyers 4-0

The New York Islanders busted out a 4-0 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night in front of an energized crowd at UBS Arena.
Scott Mayfield (GWG), Samuel Bolduc, Brock Nelson and Hudson Fasching scored for the Islanders, while Bo Horvat (2A), Noah Dobson (2A) and Simon Holmstrom (2A) had multi-point performances in the win. Ilya Sorokin made all 27 saves and recorded his league-leading sixth shutout in the NHL and 16th of his career.

The Islanders won their seventh consecutive game on home ice against the Flyers in front of a loud home crowd for the last weekend contest of the regular season.
"The crowd was really energetic tonight," Noah Dobson said. "It was a great atmosphere. We feed off them, so when they're going, we're going. One more home game and then hopefully the playoffs to give them another good showing."
The Islanders (91 points) are slotted in the second wild card spot with two games remaining in the regular season, keeping pace on a day when both the first wild card Florida Panthers (91 points) and Pittsburgh Penguins (90) picked up regulation wins.
The Islanders started and ended the day in the second wild card, but briefly fell out of a playoff position in the aftermath of Penguins 5-1 afternoon win over the Red Wings, but the Islanders reclaimed their spot with a win over Philadelphia. The Panthers edged out the Washington Capitals 4-2 to protect their first wild card status.

YOUNGSTERS STAND OUT:

Two Isles rookies made an impact tonight in Simon Holmstrom (2A) and Samuel Bolduc, both reaching career milestones in their first NHL season.
Holmstrom recorded his first-career two-point game, starting with a nifty pass to Scott Mayfield on the opening goal, collecting the puck along the boards to direct it to Mayfield at the point, who fired off a long shot that deflected off a Flyers player to beat Hart for his career-high sixth goal of the season.
ISLANDERS 4, FLYERS 0
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KINGER'S CALLS
Mayfield Opens Scoring
Nelson Nets 34th
Bolduc Buries
Holmstrom also has points in back-to-back games for the first time in his career, following up with two assists against the Flyers after a goal against the Lightning on Thursday. The young winger has been developing as of late, collecting seven points (6G, 3A) through 47 games of his first NHL season.
"He's been great," Horvat said of Holmstrom. "He keeps getting better and better. The more he plays, the more opportunity he's been getting. He's a smart player."
Bolduc also netted points in consecutive games for the first time in his career, snapping a wrister high past Hart to make it 3-0 at 15:06 of the second period. The goal followed an assist in the Isles win over Tampa on Thursday.
"He has that wrist shot with a lot of velocity to it," Lambert said. "It's one of the things he's very good at and I thought he used it well tonight."
Bolduc has been frequently paired with Noah Dobson, who gave the young defenseman credit for his quick development and ability to make an impact in critical games.
"He did a good job finding open ice," Dobson said. "He has a great shot and beat the goalie clean, so he's been really good job. It's not easy stepping into these games with a playoff-like atmosphere, but he was pretty sharp."
Between the Mayfield and Bolduc goals, Brock Nelson scored the second goal for the Isles, rushing down the ice and wristed a shot from the dot to beat Hart stick side at 7:50 the second period.
"He has that wrist shot with a lot of velocity to it," Lambert said. "It's one of the things he's very good at and I thought he used it well tonight."
Bolduc has been frequently paired with Noah Dobson, who gave the young defenseman credit for his quick development and ability to make an impact in critical games.
"He did a good job finding open ice," Dobson said. "He has a great shot and beat the goalie clean, so he's been really good job. It's not easy stepping into these games with a playoff-like atmosphere, but he was pretty sharp."
Carter Hart left the game after two periods for Philadelphia after stopping 15-of-18 shots on goal, while Felix Sandstrom made two-of-three saves in relief, allowing a goal from Hudson Fasching to make it 4-0.

HORVAT HAS WELL-ROUNDED NIGHT:

Bo Horvat had a standout game, boosting the Isles to the much-needed victory.
Though Horvat didn't find the back of the net, he contributed two vital helpers on the opening two goals to build the Islanders lead. Horvat's 31 assists on the season is the most he's recorded since 2019-20, while coming within three of matching a career-high set in 2018-19.
Horvat made a remarkable assist on Bolduc's goal to build the Islanders lead. Horvat entered the Flyers zone with speed, pumped the breaks to read the ice to send a clean pass to Bolduc, who buried the Islanders' second goal of the game.
The 28-year-old has been effective in faceoffs for the Isles since his acquisition, winning draws 57.5% on the season. Tonight was no different, as Horvat went 11-for-16 in the dot.
Horvat also brought physicality to his performance with three hits on the night.
The top-line trio of Horvat, Lee and Holmstrom earned praise from Head Coach Lane Lambert on Saturday night. Aside from Holmstrom's pair of assists, Anders Lee had a strong performance, leading the team with four shots and nine total shot attempts, including a blast to beat Hart but hit the crossbar in the opening frame.
"They're skating better," Lambert said of the top line. "Bo is skating better. I think Holmstrom has shown some confidence, he's really starting to make some plays. Lee had one of his better games here. He showed his leadership tonight, he was hard on pucks, he was good."
Though Horvat didn't find the back of the net, he contributed two vital helpers on the opening two goals to build the Islanders lead. Horvat's 31 assists on the season is the most he's recorded since 2019-20, while coming within three of matching a career-high set in 2018-19.
Horvat made a remarkable assist on Bolduc's goal to build the Islanders lead. Horvat entered the Flyers zone with speed, pumped the breaks to read the ice to send a clean pass to Bolduc, who buried the Islanders' second goal of the game.
The 28-year-old has been effective in faceoffs for the Isles since his acquisition, winning draws 57.5% on the season. Tonight was no different, as Horvat went 11-for-16 in the dot.
Horvat also brought physicality to his performance with three hits on the night.

ILYA SOROKIN RECORDS 16TH CAREER SHUTOUT

Ilya Sorokin sported another solid performance, earning his league-leading sixth shutout and first since Feb. 7. The netminder made all 27 saves in the 4-0 victory, and became the fifth goalie in Isles history to win 30 games in a season - and first since 2014-15. Sorokin's six shutouts are one shy of his career-high (7) set last season. Seven shutouts are also the Islanders single-season high, which is currently held by Sorokin (2021-22), Semyon Varlamov (2020-21) and Chico Resch (1975-76).
A 27-save shutout against a team well out of the playoff picture still required some big efforts from Sorokin, who was tested with 14 shots in the opening 20 minutes, holding strong in-between the pipes while the Islanders found their footing. The Flyers were credited with six high-danger chances at five-on-five in the opening period.
"Our goaltender weathered the storm for us [in the first period] and we got to our game," Lambert said. "He shut them down pretty well in the last 40 minutes."
"Every night he gives us a chance to win," Bolduc said. "He's a big part of our success."

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders take on the Washington Capitals on Monday night at Capital One Arena. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.