We definitely were not at our best tonight. But we found a way to win. So if the Islanders are to be criticized for not being their best over the full course of the match, they must be praised for their resiliency. Or, as coach Patrick Roy described it, their confidence and swagger in knowing they could rally.
With Carson Soucy being held out tonight for roster management reasons, the trade has been finalized. The Rangers are trading Soucy to the Islanders for a 3rd round pick in this year's draft. This was the expected return for Soucy given what we know about trade deadline rentals, and at least somewhat recoups the trade acquisition cost from last year's ill-advised trade at the deadline to acquire the defenseman. Carson Soucy was not very good with the Rangers. After the deadline he was a healthy scratch for a few games as he was simply that bad. This year he improved, but it always looked like he was skating in mud.
Ilya Sorokin delivered a vintage performance, stopping all 35 shots he faced to record his NHL-leading fifth shutout of the season as the New York Islanders edged the Edmonton Oilers 1-0 on Thursday night at Rogers Place. Sorokin was sharp from the opening faceoff, tracking pucks cleanly through traffic and calmly handling Edmonton's relentless pressure. When he wasn't the difference, the goalposts helped - ringing twice on Oilers chances in a scoreless game that felt like it was waiting for one mistake to decide it.
"There's going to be nights where guys are coming after you," Schaefer said. "There's always going to be obstacles that come. It's fun. We would have liked to get the win. At least we got the point."
