It wasn’t an ideal night for goaltender Ilya Sorokin.
The New York Islanders replaced Sorokin midway through the second period in Game 3 against the Carolina Hurricanes after the 28-year-old allowed three goals on 14 shots.
Seymon Varlamov, who started the first two games of the series, replaced the Russian with 12:46 left in the period.
The Islanders turned to Sorokin for Thursday’s pivotal game, as the Hurricanes came into the showdown at UBS Arena up 2-0 in the series.
This season, Sorokin had a 25-19-12 record, 3.01 GAA and .909 save percentage in 56 regular-season appearances. On the other hand, Varlamov, 35, helped the Islanders reach the post-season with an 8-1-1 record over his last 10 games, alongside a 2.44 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage.
Sorokin’s woes in Game 3 means a potential lose-and-go-home Game 4 will most likely belong to Varlamov.
