SALT LAKE CITY — The Islanders flirted with catastrophe of their crease on Saturday, however Markus Hogberg fought them off.
Hogberg, the group’s No. 3 netminder — and a backup since early December with Semyon Varlamov’s damage — was referred to as up for simply the second time since Ilya Sorokin fell unwell and was unavailable for the sport in opposition to Utah Hockey Membership.
That left the Isles scrambling to name up Bridgeport’s Jakub Skarek on an emergency foundation to be the backup and use Utah’s EBUG as a second goaltender for his or her morning skate with him not but arrived.
It might find yourself being a hard-learned lesson about Sorokin’s significance to the membership.
As a substitute, Hogberg saved 21 of twenty-two pictures and picked up his first NHL win in almost 4 years with Islanders win 2-1.
His final win got here on April 28, 2021, when he helped the Senators beat the Canucks.
“I used to be blissful,” Hogberg mentioned afterward. “It was a good recreation, they have been main 1-0. So I believe we made an important push within the third interval and it was very nice to get the W tonight.”
Coach Patrick Roy mentioned earlier than the win that the Islanders knowledgeable Hogberg on Friday that he can be the doubtless starter.
Nonetheless, with the staff determined to snap their first three-game successful streak of the season, the scenario was removed from superb.
Sorokin has began virtually each recreation since Varlamov’s damage, with the lone exception coming within the second finish of a December 28 recreation.
Hogberg seemed good then, and he seemed good Saturday — with some severe assist from the protection within the second interval when Adam Pelech blocked Clayton Keller’s shot on an in any other case open web earlier than Hogberg coated the puck throughout the ensuing scramble.
“I believe he is quite simple,” Roy mentioned. “He fights, he is in the midst of the online, he covers his angles very effectively and he strikes effectively. However the truth that he is standing up, good place, he is a giant man, so I believe it makes it tough for the opposite staff to attain on him.”
Alexander Romanov was late in opposition to Utah with an upper-body damage and the staff declared him day-to-day.
Romanov left the ice early throughout the morning skate and gave the impression to be grimacing earlier than heading up the tunnel.
Roy declined to say whether or not he was additionally sick or coping with an damage.
With Skarek being recalled urgently, the Islanders have been allowed to maintain Grant Hutton on the roster as their seventh defenseman.
Hutton did not skate Saturday morning, although, as readability on the dimensions of the roster did not come till it was too late.
