Ilya Sorokin shines against Stars to give the playoff-chasing Islanders a much-needed win
NEW YORK (AP) — Ilya Sorokin gave the New York Islanders the type of elite goaltending they needed facing one of the NHL’s top teams while in the thick of a playoff chase , making 26 saves to beat the Dallas Stars 2-1 on Thursday night. Sorokin was locked in from the drop of the puck, denying Colin Blackwell on a shorthanded breakaway 10 minutes in and making a handful of other 10-bell saves on quality scoring chances in the first period alone. He was perfect on a pair of penalty kills, one each in the second and third periods, and allowed only one goal on a 6-on-5 with three minutes left to Matt Duchene.
Bo Horvat scored his 30th goal of the season five minutes in and Calum Ritchie later picked up the 11th of his rookie year to provide enough offensive support. Matthew Schaefer, the face of the franchise at 18 years old, assisted on each to reach 54 points and tie Hall of Famer Denis Potvin for the second most by a rookie defenseman in Islanders history. CANADIENS 2, BLUE JACKETS 1 MONTREAL (AP) — Zachary Bolduc scored the winner with his first goal since Dec.
23, and Montreal edged Columbus. Jayden Struble — with his first of the season — also scored, and Jakub Dobes made 25 saves as Montreal won its third consecutive game. Damon Severson scored for Columbus, and Jet Greaves stopped 18 shots.
The Blue Jackets fell to 19-4-4 since Rick Bowness replaced Dean Evason as head coach Jan. 12. They climbed from 28th overall to second in the Metropolitan Division ahead of Thursday’s games.
The Canadiens, meanwhile, sit third in the Atlantic Division with 11 games remaining. PENGUINS 4, OTTAWA 3, SO OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Ben Kindel scored the shootout winner to lead Pittsburgh to a win over Ottawa. Rickard Rakell scored twice and had an assist, and Erik Karlsson also scored for the Penguins, who moved into second in the Metropolitan Division.