Ilya Sorokin & Jake Oettinger Are Both Elite Goalies But Are Perceived Differently: Why? – The Hockey Writers New York Islanders Latest News, Analysis & More

The New York Islanders return to action from the 4 Nations Face-Off with a Sunday, Feb. 23 game against the Dallas Stars. It’s not an ideal matchup for a team that must make up ground in the Eastern Conference, but it starts a pivotal stretch for the Islanders, who will either buy or sell at the trade deadline based on the upcoming games.

Related: 4 Trade Destinations for Islanders’ Brock Nelson

The Islanders and Stars are two opposite types of teams but have two goaltenders as their primary starters with a lot of overlap. Jake Oettinger might not play in the upcoming game, but he’s one of the elite goaltenders in the NHL, just like Ilya Sorokin, who will get the nod in the upcoming game. What’s fascinating about the two goaltenders is how they are perceived.

They have similar contracts, with an $8.25 million average annual value, and both are in the same tier. But Sorokin isn’t given enough credit, not nearly as much as Oettinger. There are a few reasons why the Islanders goaltender, while great, is often overlooked and viewed as overpaid by general manager (GM) Lou Lamoriello.

Oettinger vs. Sorokin’s Style

Oettinger isn’t significantly bigger than Sorokin (he’s 6-foot-6 and weighs 224 pounds compared to the 6-foot-4, 211-pound frame of the Islanders starter) but he plays that way. Oettinger plays like a bigger goaltender who can stop the initial shot and cover up most of the net with his positioning.

Sorokin, on the other hand, plays with athleticism and relies on his flexibility to make the big stops. It’s why he’s made plenty of highlight saves, as he’ll be out of position but then recover to make a big stop and keep the Islanders in a game. This difference makes him a high-risk, high-reward goaltender who can put together great stretches but also unravel at any time.

It’s rare to find the rough patches in Oettinger in each game and in a handful of starts. While his play doesn’t put him in the Vezina Trophy conversation (he came a distant fifth in voting in 2022-23) his consistency makes him one of the great goaltenders in the NHL. Sorokin had one of the best seasons for a goaltender in Islanders history when he finished second in Vezina Trophy voting in 2022-23 but his low points and bad games are noticeable. It’s one of the reasons his 2023-24 season was a disaster, and he was unplayable down the stretch.

The Defense Helps

For the most part, the Stars have given their goaltender a great defense to help him out. Ironically, the one time they didn’t have a great defense was in the first half of the 2023-24 season, and Oettinger struggled. They acquired Chris Tanev at the 2024 trade deadline and the move turned the defense into a strength and Oettinger found his footing.

The Stars have an overlooked defense, and understandably so considering the elite talent in their forward group. However, they’ve had a unit built to score and shut down opposing offenses. It’s led by Miro Heiskanen and Thomas Harley, two of the best two-way defensemen in the league, but they’ve always kept a veteran or two in the second pair to round out the unit and thus help out Oettinger.

The same can’t be said about the Islanders. Yes, their defense was elite under head coach Barry Trotz, but it’s otherwise struggled. Under Lane Lambert, Sorokin was great despite an undisciplined and sloppy defense, and under current head coach Patrick Roy, he’s played great even with injuries taking a toll on the unit. Moreover, the defense being a mess in 2023-24 became too much for Sorokin and the workload caused him to struggle.

Both Oettinger and Sorokin have been in the NHL for five seasons and have played the same number of games (234 to 232). Yet, Oettinger has faced 6,330 shots while Sorokin has faced 6,972 shots. That gap doesn’t tell the full story, but it says a lot about the two defenses in front of them and that Sorokin’s done more with less help.

Playoff Performances Matter

The knock on Sorokin is his play in the playoffs. When the Islanders paid him, the hope was he’d be the elite goaltender they could lean on for a playoff run. So far, when the pressure is greater and the teams are better, he’s taken a step back.

In the First Round against the Carolina Hurricanes in 2023, he had a .924 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.60 goals-against average (GAA) on 210 shots, but it wasn’t enough and the Islanders lost the series in six games. Then came the 2024 first-round fiasco where he didn’t start Game 1 or Game 2 but started Game 3 and was pulled after allowing three goals on 14 shots to Carolina. Sorokin’s numbers aren’t bad in the playoffs, but he still hasn’t put together enough strong starts to carry the Islanders to a deep playoff run. He’s only started one game in the Second Round of his career, back in 2021. But he lost it, forcing Trotz to rely on Semyon Varlamov for the rest of the playoff run.

Oettinger’s had his rough stretches as well in the playoffs, but his strong play has allowed the Stars to go on deep playoff runs. The Stars have a great offense that can win high-scoring games (something the Islanders never had), but when they needed to win a goaltending duel, he was up for the task. Oettinger will have a bad start once in a while, but for the most part, he’ll put together a great series, and it’s helped his team reach the Western Conference Final in 2023 and 2024. The elite goaltenders are paid not just to carry their teams in the regular season but in the playoffs as well, something he’s done a few times early on in his career.

Where Sorokin Can Change His Perception

Sorokin takes on a higher workload than most goaltenders, even the great ones. It’s often been to his detriment as he starts to wear down and struggle down the stretch. It’s why Varlamov was the starter at the end of last season, as Sorokin was overworked and couldn’t put together strong starts.

This season, it can be his saving grace. Varlamov is out with an injury and so is Marcus Hogberg. Sorokin will be tasked with starting most of the games in the season half of the season and allowing the Islanders, who are on the outside of the playoff picture looking in, to sneak in as a wild card.

The Vezina Trophy is all but wrapped up at this point, with Connor Hellebuyck running away with the award. However, a strong finish to the season will have Sorokin in the conversation as a finalist and recognized as one of the elite goaltenders in the league. He’s one of the reasons the Islanders have looked competitive this season, and he’ll be the reason they end up in the playoffs if they can turn the season around.