Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin had a career first on Monday. He was named the NHL’s first star of the week after going 3-0-0 with a 1.33 goals-against average and a .953 save percentage in wins over the Avalanche, Flyers and Lightning. He had been named the second- and third-star of the week previously in his career but never No. 1.

Once left for dead, the New York Islanders are now one of the hottest teams in the entire NHL. Recently, the Islanders reeled off seven wins in a row to vault t

The Islanders’ current six-game winning streak doesn’t quite feel like past runs when Sorokin has been the only thing between them and disaster on a nightly basis. The defense in front of him has been strong, particularly a dramatically improved penalty kill.

Simon Holmstrom scored twice and added an assist, and Ilya Sorokin made 30 saves to lead the New York Islanders to a 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night.

For the Islanders to win seven of their past nine games, finally beginning to turn their season in the right direction, a lot of things had to start going right all at once. One of the more underrated factors: The emergence of Marcus Hogberg as a solid backup goalie.

New York Islanders netminder Ilya Sorokin has been playing an incredible brand of hockey lately. Over his last six starts, the 29-year-old is 6-0-0, with a 1.19 GAA, a .953 SV%, and one shutout. On Monday, the NHL named him their first start of the week:

Sorokin went 3-0 last week with a .953 SV%, a 1.33 GAA and one shutout The National Hockey League has named Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin the First Star of the Week for the period ending February 2.