Islanders' Ilya Sorokin: Pulled in the second

Sorokin allowed three goals on 14 shots before he was replaced by Semyon Varlamov in the second period of Thursday's 3-2 Game 3 loss to Carolina. Sorokin was credited with the loss.

Looking to climb out of a 2-0 hole in the series, the Islanders elected to switch things up and turn to Sorokin in net for Game 3. The 28-year-old netminder allowed two goals on the first six shots he faced in the first period and a third tally to Sebastian Aho 7:14 into the second before he was pulled in favor of Varlamov. Sorokin seemed to be the Islanders' unquestioned starter after signing an eight-year extension prior to the season. However, he was outplayed down the stretch by Varlamov, who took over the top goaltending job heading into the playoffs. Sorokin went 25-19-12 during the regular season with a career-low .908 save percentage and 3.01 GAA.