Islanders’ Patrick Roy reveals advice to Ilya Sorokin amid demanding stretch

As the New York Islanders look to run at the playoffs in 2026, they are in a demanding stretch of the season. This has put a lot of pressure on goaltender Ilya Sorokin. After a rough start a week ago against the Montreal Canadiens, Sorokin bounced back with his best performance against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Now, more is being demanded of Sorokin, and head coach Patrick Roy is speaking out about the advice he is giving to his netminder, per Howie Kussoy of The New York Post.

“He hasn’t played a lot of volume games until now,” Roy said. “I think we’ve been managing this very well. Right now, the urgency is to play game-by-game. Don’t worry about tomorrow. Worry about today.”

“The mind is a lot weaker than the body. The body can take a lot more than you think. It’s the mind you need to convince. I think that’s all it is. He’s been a force for us. He’s been playing so well. Every mistake that we make, he’s there to cover for them,” Roy continued. “Would I like to not give up turnovers and not give up breakaways, yes, I would love to, but that’s why we have one of the best in the game.”

While the advice was sound, Sorokin had a dreadful game. After a scoreless first period, the Islanders took a lead early in the second period. They would score on the power play and then against less than two minutes later. The Penguins got one back, but Brayden Schenn made it 3-1 half way throug the second period. That is when disaster struck. The Pens would score four straight to end the second period, and three in a row in the third.

Ultimatly Sorokin would be pulled after allowing seven goals on just 28 shots, and the Islanders dropped behind the Penguins in the Metropolitan Division.

With the loss, the Islanders dropped to 42-28-5 on the year, good for third in the Metropolitan Division. They are just one point in front of the Blue Jackets in the division, and three points in front of the Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings, and Philadelphia Flyers, all of whom are outside the playoff picture. The team will need to figure out its next steps soon, as it visits the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night.

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