Ilya Sorokin finally produced a franchise goaltender-like performance Friday night for the New York Islanders.
The Columbus Blue Jackets got more evidence Saturday they might have two goalies operating at a franchise player level.
The Blue Jackets will look to remain hot Sunday afternoon when they complete a back-to-back set by visiting the Islanders in Elmont, N.Y.
The Blue Jackets earned their fourth straight win Saturday night, when Jet Greaves made 37 saves in a 3-2 victory over the visiting St. Louis Blues. The Islanders completed a four-game road trip Friday, when Sorokin recorded 22 saves in a 3-1 win over the Washington Capitals.
Greaves and Elvis Merzlikins, the latter of whom will likely start Sunday, have keyed a winning streak in which the Blue Jackets have recorded three one-goal wins — including two in overtime or the shootout — while outscoring the opposition 18-12.
Greaves and Merzlikins have teamed up to stop 132 of 144 shots (91.7%) while starting twice apiece over the last four games. That performance is right in line with the season-long performance of the duo, who have combined for a .912 save percentage in 11 games — six for Greaves and five for Merzlikins.
Overall the Blue Jackets have allowed 33 goals, tied for 10th-fewest in the league, despite giving up an NHL-high 33.5 shots per game.
“Both have been so good, so both need to play,” Blue Jackets head coach Dean Evason said. “Both have played real well for us, held us in games.”
The back-to-back set will be the third in the last 10 days for the Blue Jackets. Columbus lost to Washington on Oct. 24, then beat the host Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4 in the shootout on Oct. 25, followed by road win at the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 in overtime, then a 6-3 home win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.
Sorokin is in the second season of an eight-year contract but struggled over his first seven starts, a span in which he went 2-4-1 while recording a save percentage of .868. Backup David Rittich went 2-1-0 in his three outings while stopping 90.1% of the shots he faced.
But Sorokin, who had a save percentage of 90% or higher in each of his first five NHL seasons, performed better Friday. The 30-year-old kept the game scoreless by stopping all 13 shots he faced in the first period before turning back the Capitals’ final nine shots following Tom Wilson’s goal 4:48 into the second.
“As a goalie, I’m sure you need a night like this,” said Islanders head coach Patrick Roy, who won four Stanley Cups and made the Hall of Fame as a goalie for the Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche. “Hopefully, that’ll bring the confidence that can help him get on a roll.”
The win allowed the Islanders to avoid going winless on a four-game road trip. New York opened the trek by going 0-2-1 against the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes.
