3 Takeaways: Sorokin Shutout Gets Isles a Point in 1-0 Shootout Loss

Ilya Sorokin stopped all 46 shots he saw on Monday night, backstopping the New York Islanders to a 1-0 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena.
Evan Rodrigues scored the lone goal of the shootout, as the Islanders dropped to 1-1-2 on their road trip, which concludes on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. While leaving a point on the table stung, the Islanders recognized the importance of picking up one against the defending Stanley Cup champions as the Washington Capitals pulled even with them in the tight Metropolitan Division.

"That's a big point," Zach Parise said. "The standings, they're tight now and they're going to stay tight till the end of the year. You have to accumulate points. We had our opportunities to get the second one and unfortunately we didn't, so the silver lining take the one."

PICKING UP POINTS ON THE ROAD

Technically, the road trip isn't over, but for all intents and purposes, the road portion is and the Islanders have taken four of a possible eight points.
The Islanders took points in three of the four games outside of the New York Area, shootout losses against the Eastern Conference leading Boston Bruins and defending Stanley Cup champion Avalanche, and a win over the West-leading Vegas Golden Knights.
That took a little bit of the sting of being on the wrong side of the ledger on Monday, as the Isles wrapped up a slate of three games in four nights against a tough opponent.
"That's a big point," captain Anders Lee said. "End of a road trip and a long one here. It's tough coming into Colorado [because] you get tired pretty quick, but we grinded this one out and Sorokin had a phenomenal game. It's a big point and now we're looking forward to getting back on the East Coast."

SOROKIN SHARP IN SHUTOUT

Without question, Ilya Sorokin was the Islanders best player on Monday night.
The goaltender stopped 46 shots through 65 minutes, getting into a groove early and keeping cool even when the Avalanche started to turn up the heat.
AVALANCHE 1, ISLANDERS 0 (SO)
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The Islanders may have outshot the Avalanche 11-10 in the first period (though the Avs still generated nine high danger chances at five-on-five per Natural Stat Trick) but Colorado outshot New York 36-15 the rest of the way.
That didn't faze Sorokin, who had lost five straight starts entering Monday. The Islanders netminder was tracking pucks well through traffic and was feisty and aggressive when the Avs crashed his crease.
He stopped all six shots on Colorado's two power play opportunities in the second period and all 19 shots he saw in the third. While his toe save on Samuel Girard in the second was good, his point blank save on Cale Makar at the tail end of overtime was great - and what ultimately pushed the game to a shootout.
Sorokin was credited with a shutout in the losing effort - his third of the season - and a good response after allowing five goals against the Arizona Coyotes on Friday.
"I don't know if bounce back is the right word because he's been playing great," Parise said. "I don't think there's been any decline in this game. A couple of pretty odd bounces in Arizona. You can't do anything about it. So he's played great and he played great again tonight."
At the other end, Georgiev was solid when he needed to be, stopping 26 shots for the shutout. The win was Georgiev's ninth career victory over the Islanders in 13 games. Head Coach Lane Lambert felt his team generated some quality looks (10 high danger chances at five-on-five, per NST) despite being outshot.
"I thought we generated some, but I thought we at times we passed up some shots, which we can't do," Lambert said. "We got ourselves into areas at times and as far as they're concerned, they have a high powered offensive team, and I thought we battled hard."

MAKAR WAVES OFF PENALTY

While 1-0 shootout losses are rare, a play at the end of the first period was a first for pretty much everyone in attendance at Ball Arena.
Colorado defenseman Cale Makar lost an edge shortly after Mathew Barzal's stick made contact with his arm. In the moment, it looked like a penalty and the official put his hand up for a delayed whistle, but Makar, who knew he'd slipped, felt otherwise and signaled such to the ref, who rescinded the call.
"I haven't seen that before," Barzal said. "That was good sportsmanship on his part."
"I honestly didn't even know he waved it off until I saw it after," Barzal continued. "I thought the ref just made the call but yeah, obviously good sportsmanship on his part not taking that. I don't know if I would have done the same to be honest with you."
Makar, the reigning Norris Trophy winner, has 28 points (7G, 21A) in 30 games this season. He played a game-high 31:48 TOI with 10 shot attempts.
"No, I haven't [seen that]," Head Coach Lane Lambert said. "Just an honest player who wants to beat you fair and square."

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders return to New York and wrap up their five-game road trip on Thursday night against the New York Ragners at Madison Square Garden.