Ilya Sorokin posted a shutout in his return from injury Sunday afternoon for the visiting New York Islanders, who edged the New Jersey Devils 1-0.
Sorokin, who missed the previous two games with a lower-body injury, made 25 saves as the surprise starter for the Islanders (35-33-12, 82 points), who were eliminated from playoff contention with Saturday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.
The shutout was the fourth of the season for Sorokin and the 22nd of his five-year career. He is tied with Hall of Famer Billy Smith for the second-most shutouts in Islanders history behind Chico Resch (25 shutouts).
Bo Horvat scored the only goal late in the second period for the Islanders, who recorded their first 1-0 win since Oct. 17, 2023, when they edged the Arizona Coyotes. It was also New York’s first 1-0 victory over the Devils since Feb 19, 2016.
Jacob Markstrom recorded 21 saves for the playoff-bound Devils (41-32-7, 89 points), who have lost three straight, all in regulation. New Jersey will play the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
The 1-0 loss was the second of the season for the Devils, who fell to the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 10.
The Devils outshot the Islanders 10-8 during a scoreless first, when Horvat had a potential power play goal waved off after it was ruled he punched in the rebound of his own shot with 9:01 left.
Horvat finally produced the game’s first goal following a Devils turnover in the final minute of the second. Alexander Romanov’s clearing pass through the zone glanced off the stick of Kyle Palmieri and to Luke Hughes, who dished to Timo Meier. The right winger attempted to pass to Brett Pesce, but Horvat swooped in, picked off the puck and fired a shot beyond Markstrom’s glove with 56.6 seconds remaining.
Both teams had nine shots in the third, when the Devils misfired on a pair of chances to tie the score in the waning minutes. Sorokin was screened by a trio of teammates when Ondrej Palat’s shot went wide of the goalie with 3:16 left. Jesper Bratt’s wide-open shot from the left faceoff circle with six seconds remaining sailed high.
