Patrick Roy always liked starting on consecutive days during his playing career.
Ilya Sorokin, at minimum, must not mind it at this point. Sunday marked the fourth time in the past four seasons that he’s started both ends of a back-to-back as he took the net in Ottawa while Semyon Varlamov was still out with a lower-body injury.
“I had a lot of back-to-back games. I almost felt better in my second game than my first game,” Roy said pregame. “I guess we’re all different. Ilya’s in really good shape, so I’m not nervous for him.”
Indeed, Sorokin looked unaffected by the lack of rest while making 28 saves in a 4-2 Islanders victory over the Senators.
The goalie, in fact, was a crucial component of that win, repeatedly bailing out the Islanders in a game in which the five-on-five scoring chances went 28-6 to Ottawa, with the Senators dominating large portions of the game.
So if there was any worry about whether Sorokin could come up with a big save at a big moment or steal a game for the Islanders, there shouldn’t be anymore.
Varlamov’s situation, though, remains a question mark for the time being.
Earlier this week, Roy called the injury “short term for now,” but for the time being, it seems clear the Islanders — who hoped to avoid this exact situation — only have one goaltender in the organization they are comfortable playing in an NHL game until Varlamov returns.
Marcus Hogberg, who is currently backing up Sorokin, was signed over the summer to be the third goaltender for the organization after the same issue struck them last January, but evidently has not inspired enough confidence to be put on the ice.
Hogberg, in 13 games at AHL Bridgeport, has a .898 save percentage and 3.26 goals allowed average.
He stopped all 11 shots he saw Thursday night when relieving Sorokin — who was pulled for the third period in a 5-2 loss to the Kraken — and has 43 career NHL games, all but that one coming with the Senators between 2018-21.
Pierre Engvall came back into the lineup after sitting for Saturday’s win over the Hurricanes, skating on the fourth line. Hudson Fasching was a healthy scratch for the first time since Nov. 27.