SALT LAKE CITY — The Islanders flirted with catastrophe of their crease on Saturday, however Marcus Hogberg acquired them by it.
Hogberg, the group’s third-string netminder — and backup for the reason that begin of December with Semyon Varlamov harm — was known as into motion for simply the second time after Ilya Sorokin fell in poor health and was unavailable for the match towards Utah Hockey Membership.
That left the Isles scrambling to name up Jakub Skarek from Bridgeport on an emergency foundation to be the backup, and utilizing Utah’s EBUG as a second goalie for his or her morning skate with him but to reach.
It may have ended as a hard-learned lesson about Sorokin’s significance to the membership.
As an alternative, Hogberg saved 21 of twenty-two pictures and took house his first NHL victory in almost 4 years with the 2-1 Islanders win.
His final win had come on April 28, 2021, when he backstopped the Senators to a win over the Canucks.
“I used to be glad,” Hogberg mentioned afterward. “It was a good sport, they have been up 1-0. So I believe we did a terrific push within the third interval and it was very nice to get a W tonight.”
Coach Patrick Roy mentioned earlier than the win that the Islanders had knowledgeable Hogberg on Friday that he could be the doubtless starter.
Nonetheless, with the staff desperately desirous to earn its first three-game successful streak of the season, it was removed from a really perfect state of affairs.
Sorokin has began almost each sport since Varlamov’s harm, with the lone exception approaching the second finish of a back-to-back on Dec. 28.
Hogberg seemed good then, and he seemed good Saturday — with some main assist from the protection coming within the second interval when Adam Pelech blocked Clayton Keller’s shot into an in any other case open internet earlier than Hogberg coated the puck throughout the ensuing scramble.
“I believe he’s quite simple,” Roy mentioned. “He’s combating, he’s in the course of the web, he covers his angles very properly and strikes properly. However the truth that he’s sq., good place, he’s an enormous man, so I believe he makes it powerful for the opposite staff to return rating on him.”
Alexander Romanov was a late scratch towards Utah with an upper-body harm and the staff declared him day-to-day.
Romanov left the ice early throughout morning skate and gave the impression to be grimacing earlier than going up the tunnel.
Roy declined to reply whether or not he was additionally in poor health or coping with an harm.
Since Skarek was an emergency recall, the Islanders have been allowed to maintain Grant Hutton on the roster as their seventh defenseman.
Hutton, nevertheless, didn’t skate Saturday morning, as readability on the roster dimension didn’t come till it was too late.