Sorokin Slams the Door as Islanders Cash Their Chances
The Islanders took the points on a night the Blackhawks fired more pucks and spent longer in the offensive end, but the difference was in net and in finishing. Chicago owned 59.3 percent of shot attempts at five-on-five, yet Ilya Sorokin turned aside 22 of 23 and outperformed the chances he faced by 1.5 goals saved above expected.
New York didn’t need many looks to break it open. Bo Horvat scored twice on four shots, while Anthony Duclair and Emil Heineman added finishes that punished Chicago’s few lapses. On the back end, Logan Stanley quietly stacked two assists in 23:49, and Matthew Schaefer logged 26:43 with an assist. At the other crease, Arvid Soderblom stopped 15 of 18 and couldn’t match Sorokin’s answers.
Luck check: no help from the posts — zero iron all night. The box score says 4-1 Islanders; underneath, it was a split story: Chicago drove the pace, New York had the goalie and the touch.
