NHL: Ilya Sorokin dazzles as Islanders earn important win over Blue Jackets

New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin stopped all 24 shots he faced and held off the Columbus Blue Jackets’ attack, preserving Bo Horvat’s early goal for a 1-0 win Sunday night at UBS Arena.

The victory snapped the Islanders’ two-game losing streak and moved them ahead of the idle Detroit Red Wings for the second and final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. New York now shares 85 points with Columbus in the Metropolitan Division, though the Blue Jackets have a game in hand.

Sorokin earned his seventh shutout of the season and the 29th of his career, extending his franchise record.

Horvat’s goal came just 1:25 into the game, completing a fast end-to-end sequence. Adam Boqvist raced to a loose puck in the Columbus zone, passed to Anders Lee, who moved it through the neutral zone, setting up Horvat at the blue line to fire a shot past Blue Jackets goalie Jet Greaves. Greaves finished with 21 saves as Columbus saw its 12-game point streak end.

Columbus threatened twice in the third period. Mason Marchment’s shot from the goal line glanced off Sorokin with 11:05 left, and Conor Garland’s attempt bounced off Sorokin’s pads with 8:15 remaining. The Islanders briefly appeared to double their lead late in the third, but a goal by Horvat was overturned after a review confirmed goalie interference in the crease.

Sorokin made several key stops down the stretch, denying Cole Sillinger, Kirill Marchenko, Zack Werenski, and Kent Johnson to preserve the shutout and secure the Islanders’ narrow win.

The Islanders and Blue Jackets are now one point behind the Pittsburgh Penguins, who fell 5-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes earlier Sunday.

-Field Level Media/Reuters