The Need To Be Perfect Weighing on New York Islanders Netminders

Whether it has been on the offensive side or the defensive side of the puck, New York Islanders goaltenders have not been given the support they have needed to be at their best.

The New York Islanders have scored 2.40 goals per game this season, the fourth-worst in all of hockey. Because of this, there is an immense amount of pressure on Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov to be perfect on a nightly basis—never an ideal situation.

And they have not been.

Both goaltenders at times have allowed weak goals to go in at inopportune times. In back-to-back games this past Friday and Saturday, Ilya Sorokin allowed goals that, not to say were entirely weak, but given his skill set are shots that he undoubtedly can stop.

The problem with the Islanders and their lack of offense has been when a goal like that goes in, it seems like a monumental ask to get a goal to offset it.

In one-goal games this season, the New York Islanders have a winning percentage of .267, third-worst in the NHL. They have won four out of 13 one-goal games, five in regulation, and six in overtime.

Especially with Sorokin more so than Varlamov, the pressure to be perfect causes overthinking.

As a goaltender, I’ve played behind some pretty rough defenses. And when that’s the case, and you know that every save you can make is ultra-valuable, you tend to think about the next save while trying to make the first save. And that’s when goals go in that shouldn’t.

Anticipating rather than reacting, a goaltenders’ worst enemy. That’s what happens when you lose trust in your defense.

Rewatching the Zach Hyman goal and just using my experience and the mental aspect of being in net, Sorokin watched the eyes of Hyman, not the puck. The whole time, Hyman was looking at his teammate crashing the back post, and until the very last second did he look at Sorokin and beat him glove-side close to the body.

Zachary. Martin. Hyman. #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/Jv5OAsCUR1

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 12, 2022

Where was Sorokin’s glove?

It was extended and the reason being was because, one he did not track the shot, but two, and this is just inferring, that Sorokin was getting ready to have to deny that back-door chance with his glove.

The need to be perfect.

The lack of offense is the biggest reason why the Islanders are where they are in the standings. After a five-goal first period against the Vancouver Canucks in the first game after the All-Star break, the Islanders have scored a total of four goals over their last seven periods.

You could have Martin Brodeur in goal or Henrik Lundqvist in their primes and these games may be close, but a win is still not the end result.

Unlike a year ago, the Islanders also are not winning the close games. And just as much as the offense has been a trainwreck, so has the defense…Saturday night’s display was rather unappealing.

The Calgary Flames, who do not need to rely on opponent mistakes for offense, were handed at least three goals on a silver platter.

Puck watching in the defensive zone usually means that a face-off drop at center ice is in the near future.

The inability to communicate and take the man sitting in the low slot is so uncharacteristic of the New York Islanders defense, a defense that has not been its same lockdown defense in year four under head coach Barry Trotz.

Now that has to do with the pieces that have been lost and the pieces that have been brought in.

There’s not much a goaltender can do when the opposition has unguarded, in-tight chances.

When we discuss defense, it’s not just on the defenders. The New York Islanders forwards have not done a strong enough job staying with their man. Too many times, the opposition’s defensemen are able to jump in on the rush and no Islander forward pick them up.

Last season, New York had one of the best tandems in hockey, finishing with 2.23 goals against per game. The Islander had allowed 28.4 shots against per game. Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov faced 6.71 high-danger shots per game, with a combined high-danger save percentage of .827%.

This season, the Islanders have the fifth-best defense at 2.67 goals against per game and have allowed 31.1 shots per game. Sorokin and Varlamov have faced 8.67 high-danger shots per game.

Their HD SV%, .835% but there is slightly more shots, and more dangerous shots, coming at them this season than last season.

The need to be perfect.

No matter what New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello does by the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline, there is too much to fix to save this season.

The Islanders have not been mathematically eliminated and there’s always a chance for a turnaround, but with so many issues on both sides of the puck, success is not sustainable right now, and the goaltenders have to bear the brunt of it.