What Went Wrong: No Goalie is an Island

April 28, 2023 had to be a historic day in playoff hockey. Four Game 6s took place. Four elimination games. One of them took place in Long Island, as the New York Islanders managed to stave off elimination two nights prior with a win in Game Five of their series against the Carolina Hurricanes. The road 3-2 win earned them one more chance on home ice, and it did look good for the Isles. They did score first, and that 1-0 score held up after the first 50+ minutes. However, Sebastian Aho tied it up on a crazy backhand, and overtime would see Paul Stastny squeak one past Ilya Sorokin, and that squib ended the Islanders' season.

The Islanders reached the playoffs for the fourth time in three years, with their run being known for two things. One, ousting the Pittsburgh Penguins twice (2019 and 2021), and two, their back-to-back Final Four appearances (2020 and 2021). Last year saw them miss out, but still finish with a winning record, though they decided to fire Barry Trotz as coach for some reason. Despite this, the Islanders managed to get back into the playoffs in their first year with Lane Lambert as head coach, becoming the last team to get in.

I want to talk about Ilya Sorokin. Sorokin has been the common thread in the latter portion of the Isles' stretch, which--for him--began with the 2020-21 season. He was mostly a backup, but his stellar play led to Sorokin's starts increasing to the point where he became the main netminder for the Islanders. Sorokin has a grand total of 16 shutouts in his NHL career, with seven of them coming in the 2021-22 season, the year the Islanders missed the playoffs. This season, Sorokin has six shutouts, which led the league, and he had a stellar showing in this year's playoffs.

The OT goal in Game Six could have been prevented, but that's not what went wrong. The main problem the Isles have? Sorokin has to be perfect because none of his teammates show up.

No one averaged a point per game for the Isles. In a six game series, no player had six points. Five led the team, and that was Kyle Palmieri and Brock Nelson sharing that honor. They were two of only three Isles players to score more than once; Mathew Barzal was the other, but his two goals were the only points he had. As for Bo Horvat, the big get for the Islanders via trade? A goal and an assist. That's it. The Islanders are offensively challenged. They can't score to save their lives. They entered this year's playoffs as the second-lowest scoring team in the Sweet 16. The crazy thing? That's a lingering problem; this didn't just begin.

The Islanders need to do some heavy-duty shopping around during this offseason. The offense is heavily inflated now. Teams are scoring at rapid paces. Players are getting 100 points like its nothing. Defense is always important in hockey. But you need to score. 75 points led the Isles this year. That is not going to cut it. The Islanders need that guy who can put up 40 and 60 for 100 points at least, and then have some 90 point guys as well. It's the only way that the Isles can keep up and compete with other teams in the Eastern Conference, especially their NYC counterparts, the Rangers.

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