Why the Rangers care about an Islander goalie

Playoff rivals

When it comes to  the playoffs, Shesterkin was a member of the Gagarin Cup championship SKA Petersburg squad in 2016-17, but he was the back up to goalie Mikko Koskinen who had a fabulous playoff (12-1, 1.64 GAA, .938 SV%).

SKA St. Petersburg finished third in the Gagarin Cup the next two season while CSKA Moscow finished second in 2017-18 and won the title in 2018-19.  Sorokin was the top goalie for CSKA both seasons.

The only playoff where the two goalies went head-to-head was in 2019.  It was in the Gagarin Cup  Western Conference Finals when CSKA Moscow, the top team in the league faced SKA St. Petersburg, the second best team that finished only three points behind their rivals.

There is a misconception that Shesterkin had a bad playoff last year, but the opposite is true.  He was suspended for one game and when back-up Magnus Hellberg played well, SKA went with the hot hand while Shesterkin sat.  You can read the full story here.

The real story is that Shesterkin took over in the series after Hellberg lost the first game, 2-1 in Moscow.  Shesterkin hadn’t played in four weeks, but he was the starting goalie for SKA in the last six games of the series.

So, for six games it Shesterkin vs. Sorokin and they ended up in a virtual tie, statistically.

                      G   W-L   GAA   SV%  Goals Shots
Shesterkin  6   3-3   1.79    .914    11     128
Sorokin        6   3-3   1.68    .924     10    131

Sorokin was actually pulled from Game Four of the series after he allowed two goals in less than a minute in the third period.  He was replaced by Lars Johansson in a game that SKA won 3-1.

The home team won every game in this series and one wonders if the one month layoff hurt Shesterkin in the game that he returned to action, a 3-1 loss.

In the next round,  CSKA Moscow went on to win the Gagarin Cup in a four game sweep over Avangard Omsk.   Sorokin was lights out in that series, allowing only four goals in four games and posting two shutouts.

Sorokin’s future

The Islanders have been accused of making some bizarre personnel moves when it came to their goalies.  They were widely criticized for allowing Robin Lehner to depart via free agency the year he was a Vezina Trophy finalist and he won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.   As  result, the Isles had to go out and sign free agent Semyon Varlamov.

There’s a method to the Islanders’ seeming madness.  Their second goalie, Thomas Greiss, is an unrestricted free agent this summer, leaving a spot open for Sorokin.  Who better to mentor a young Russian goalie than Varlamov, a veteran of 12 NHL seasons.  Not only that, both Varlamov and Sorokin are from central Russia, far from the big urban hubs like Moscow and St. Petersburg.

It would be a huge disappointment for the Islanders if Sorokin spurns them and returns to the KHL.  The uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic are not helping as he could be facing a long stint in the AHL if he signs with the Islanders as the NHL won’t resume play until close to the new year.

Additionally, there are reports that Sorokin wants to sign before the postseason and make the team for the playoffs so he can burn the first year of his Entry Level Contract.