After going down 2-0 in the first-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes, Islanders’ head coach Patrick Roy decided it was time to use his team’s de facto number-one goaltender, the one he had called his “Ferrari” hours before, Ilya Sorokin. It seemed like a sound plan, but after the Formula 1 severely backfired, Roy had to get the “Cadillac,” backup goaltender Semyon Varlamov, back in the crease. Now, in the aftermath of a 3-2 defeat in which Sorokin allowed all three goals, what are the implications?
Patrick Roy on Pulling Sorokin
In his postgame press conference, Roy refused to hang the loss on Sorokin. Asked what he saw from Sorokin during the game, he explained:
“I’m going to say this: we win, and we lose as a team. So, I’m not going to go there. What I am going to say is sometimes make changes as a coach because we feel we just want to change the momentum of the game. I’ll leave it to that.”
Then, he was asked what he could do to keep this from hurting Sorokin’s confidence in the bigger picture and Roy didn’t mince words:
“You’re not going to like my answer but I’m focusing more on the team than I am focusing on our goalie. I mean we have a goalie coach that does a very good job, and I’d rather focus on getting ready for the next game, and we play at 2 p.m. on Saturday, that’s where my focus has to be and wants to be.”
Even if Roy sidestepped the issue — for now at leas — Sorokin did appear somewhat stunned by what had gone on. He stayed in the corridor on his own after being pulled and was nowhere to be found when it was time to face the media after the defeat.
Sorokin Isn’t the First and Won’t Be the Last to Be Pulled
Goaltenders are a special breed of individuals; you must be quite strong mentally to enjoy being the last line of defense and be able to handle the pressure that comes with it. Does that mean a goaltender cannot be shaken by events that took place in the crease? Of course not. But before getting to be a National Hockey League netminder, these athletes have been through many ups, downs, and false starts. When you become a professional athlete, you have got to be just that: professional. You learn what can be learned from a bad experience, you turn the page, and start writing the next one.
Still, a goaltender’s confidence can be shot to pieces and that’s what sports psychologists are for. Marc-Andre Fleury agreed to see one after being asked to do so by the Pittsburgh Penguins back in the summer of 2013 when he was, oddly enough, 28 years old, just like Sorokin is right now.
The stigma that was once associated with using a mental health specialist is no more these days. No one must be “the strong silent type” as Tony Soprano once told his psychiatrist on the famous HBO show. It’s highly likely that most, if not all professional sports teams, have one on their payroll. When you invest that much money in chasing sports titles, you want to give your players all the tools they may need to perform to the best of their ability.
Sorokin was not the first and won’t be the last goaltender pulled in the playoffs. Back in 2010, the Montreal Canadiens, who had already given Carey Price the number-one tag, turned to Jaroslav Halak during their unlikely run to the Eastern Conference Final because he was the hot hand. Carey Price came out of “the ordeal” unscathed. Sorokin may be the one with the big contract, but Varlamov is the one who guided the Islanders to the playoffs, and who’s performed better this postseason.
Granted, owners and general managers prefer to see their big-money guy play, but there are times when they’re just not the most viable option. Remember how many times Sergei Bobrovsky and his $10.5 million contract rode the pine with the Florida Panthers? These days, he’s performing just fine and has his team ahead three games to none in their series with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Related: Panthers’ 3 Keys to Success in 2022 Playoffs
Ultimately, the life and the career of a professional goaltender will not end after one bad game where he was yanked out of the net. Too often, we tend to forget that hockey is just a game, even if the players are now paid millions.