— x - New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) May 22, 2021
Ilya Sorokin got the start in Game 4, after Semyon Varlamov played games 2 and 3. Varlamov wasn’t at the level he needed to be and after allowing weak goals in both games, it was the right move to go back to Sorokin.
The game started with a relatively slow first period that was pretty even overall. There were a few good chances off the rush but neither team could convert on the few real opportunities they did have.
While the Islanders were outshot in the second period, they did get the better chances and managed to capitalize on two of them. First, Josh Bailey opened the scoring for New York off a pass from Brock Nelson, with some help from Anthony Beauvillier causing issues in front of Tristan Jarry. Then later on, Ryan Pulock’s shot bounced off a skate in front and completely changed direction, with the puck finding its way through Jarry.
The Islanders continued to limit quality chances for the Penguins in the third period and Pittsburgh wasn’t able to sustain much pressure in New York’s end. The Islanders secured their win with two power play goals within 30 seconds, with Teddy Blueger scoring an own goal, before Jordan Eberle extended the lead to 4-0. Zach Aston-Reese would break the shutout with under 3 minutes to go but that’s as close as the Penguins would come.
This was a really strong game for the Islanders. They did an excellent job neutralizing Pittsburgh’s forwards and keeping a lot of shots to the outside.
That said, Ilya Sorokin played well for the Islanders. While he didn’t face a ton of quality chances, he did make some good saves, especially early on when the game was scoreless.
Once again, New York’s forward group did a really good job creating turnovers by pressuring Pittsburgh’s defensemen. It was highly effective and resulted in several quality chances for New York.
The series now shifts back to Pittsburgh for Game 5, where the Islanders will look to come back with another strong defensive performance to take back the series lead.
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