Takeaways from Tampa: Sorokin Slumping, Top Six Floundering

The New York Islanders (32-30-10) lost their fourth-straight game on Saturday afternoon, falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning (43-25-5)  inside Amalie Arena. As has become the standard of late, the Islanders had stretches of dominance, but one period of terrible hockey undoes it all.

Instead of the blown leads of late, the Islanders allowed the Bolts to storm to a 3-0 lead in the first period. By the time the second ended, it was an insurmountable 4-0. Still, the Islanders refused to quit. They struck three times in under three minutes to make it a one-goal game with just over 11 minutes to play.

From there, Bo Horvat failed to score a golden opportunity with under two minutes to play. That represented the best Islanders chance, and Jake Guentzel tucked away an empty netter to stick the dagger in New York.

The loss drops their playoff chances below 20%, and sets them up for another evening of crossing their fingers and scoreboard-watching.

Sorokin’s Slump:

It sure looks like fatigue has gotten to Ilya Sorokin. After a sparkling run from January until the California trip during the deadline, Sorokin had recaptured Vezina-like form. Since March 15, Sorokin is 3-2-1 with a goals against average of 3.11 and a save percentage of .886. That is nowhere near good enough, and it’s cost the Islanders two straight games.

Wednesday against Vancouver, Sorokin allowed softies from Derek Forbort and Teddy Blueger. Head Coach Patrick Roy pulled him early in the third. Today, on the first shot he faced, he took a deep and poor angle, allowing Nikita Kucherov to rip one blocker side. Yes, Ryan Pulock did an equally poor job defending, but your superstar goalie needs to bail you out in that spot.

Then, on the second goal, he fails to control his rebound and then fails to cover the puck. It led to the puck bouncing to Nick Perbix for an easy goal. Those two goals made it 2-0, and it set the tone.

If it is fatigue and this is where his game is at, it’s the second straight season he hits his max capacity of around 50 or so games before burning out. Since Semyon Varlamov went down, he’s played in all but eight games, so it’s been very taxing. Even so, if the Islanders want to make the playoffs, Sorokin has to be better.

Defense Talk:

Adam Boqvist should play every game for the rest of this season. In a game where he played more than both Alexander Romanov and Noah Dobson, he shined. He singlehandedly pumped life into the power play, assisting Ryan Pulock’s goal on the man advantage. Boqvist defended and facilitated very well. He and Adam Pelech were the only two defenders to finish with a +, both finishing +1.

Meanwhile, Romanov played just 15:12 and, aside from two big hits, really struggled. He finished a -2 and could not keep up with Tampa Bay’s foot speed. Ditto for Dobson, whose struggles continued with another -3. Some of it is bad luck, but he failed to tie up Yanni Gourde in front, causing the chaos that led to Perbix’s goal.

The Anthony DeAngelo roller coaster continues. He scored another goal, extending his point streak to five games while leading the defensemen in ice time with over 23 minutes played. Overall, he looked good offensively, as expected. However, his power-play unit continued its poor form, and he had an awful turnover on the first power play to Erik Cernak. He also completely lost his positioning defensively on Brayden Point’s first of two goals, which made it 3-0 in the first.

Pelech continues to quietly be the most reliable defenseman on the team. As mentioned above, he finished a +1 and looks solid. No matter who his partner is, he stabilizes the pair and helps bring out the best in his partner. He hasn’t received enough kudos for his play, so here’s some.

The Top Six Needs to Improve:

Another day, another game where the Islanders receive a goal from the third or fourth line. Yet, the top two lines remained silent tonight. Horvat had a golden opportunity late, but aside from that, his line had a quiet and bad game. After a hot streak with point streaks for Horvat and Simon Holmstrom, they’ve gone quiet now.

Elsewhere, Anders Lee, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, and Anthony Duclair continued their inability to score. They played a responsible enough game at times, but they lacked any finish at all. It’s killing this team, as they just need more from these three players in particular.

A team rarely gets a fourth-line goal and two goals from defensemen. It’s even rarer that it happens, and that team still loses. Yet, that’s exactly what happened here today.

It’s not getting easier for the team. Tomorrow night, they play in Carolina against the Hurricanes. The Islanders know how stingy they are. After that, it’s the Lightning again at UBS Arena. The well-paid forwards need to step up and find a way to win a game tomorrow, otherwise, it could really be curtains for good.