After falling to the Predators in overtime on Tuesday, the Oilers were back at home to close out their season series against the New York Islanders. The Islanders took the first round back in October, and if our boys were going to repay the favour, they would need to execute a whole lot better than what we watched a few nights ago. And while the Oilers certainly played well enough to win, a perfect goaltending performance from Ilya Sorokin really derailed the outcome. Isles steal the 1-0 win at Rogers Place.

I don’t know how else to describe Thursday’s loss other than to say the boys got goalie’d. From start to finish, Ilya Sorokin stood on his head and basically willed the Islanders to a win all on his own. Not only did he make 36 saves for the shutout, but he literally gave his team the foundation and scheme they needed to steal a win. I mean, the Islanders got two shots on net in the third period, and six shots over the final 40 minutes. The fact that they still managed to win this game was a testament to their goaltender’s brilliance, and nothing to do with how the game actually played out. The Oilers were far and a way the better team, but the obvious problem was that Ilya Sorokin was the best player.

As you’ll see by the complaints that litter this article, my frustration with Ilya Sorokin was limitless after what he did to us last night. He was so damned good in every situation, including the second and third periods when the Oilers were shelling him with 23 shots. Odd-man rushes, power plays, an empty-net extra man push, and the kitchen sink weren’t enough to beat Sorokin with pucks he actually needed to stop. Of course the story would be different of the shots by Evan Bouchard and Leon Draisaitl were an inch further inside instead of ricocheting off the post(s) and out of danger. Am I bitter? Yes. Do I respect the way Sorokin played? Also yes. To be fair, it’s been a while since we’ve been goalie’d like that, and I think it’s fair to be salty about it.

I know we were only talking about his eighth start as an Oiler, but I think I might already be in love with Connor Ingram. While I knew about his time in Arizona/Utah and the cup of coffee in Nashville, I didn’t know much about what he was actually like to watch in net. What didn’t take long to notice was how calm he looks in his crease, and how he’s square to the shooter more often than not. Yeah, there are moments of chaos in scrambles or whatever, but for the most part, there haven’t been many times when I can even remember him getting caught out of position. Put another way, Ingram kind of disappears back there, and I say that in the best way possible.

So, to see Ingram go save-for-save with Ilya Sorokin at the other end was yet another sunshine sticker on his file. And while he wasn’t nearly as busy as his counterpart, the Islanders still had more than a few quality opportunities that Ingram handled with ease. His rebound control was solid, his positioning was sound, and it looked like he had no interest in being shown up by the Islanders’ star. Unfortunately, the ending didn’t go our way, but that had more to do with Sorokin being perfect than anything Ingram did wrong. He made 17 saves, one goal against, and finished with a .944 save percentage. He got beat on the power play on a shot right from the slot. It happens. On most nights, those numbers are good enough to win the hockey game. The problem Connor Ingram had was that Ilya Sorokin had the Game Genie plugged in, and he used its evil powers to steal two points, mostly on his own.

Connor McDavid’s point streak finally came to an end on Tuesday night, and honestly, I felt almost as grateful that it happened as I was sad that it was over. After 20 straight games of absolute voodoo — he cashed in 19 goals and 27 assists for 46 points — the streak snapped in a 1-0 loss to the Islanders, and it’s a bummer that the ride had to end the way it did. It wasn’t like McDavid had an off night or anything, but rather that one of the league’s best goaltenders stood on his head and locked in a shutout. McDavid played 25:33, fired five shots on goal, and had two power play opportunities to try and get something on the scoresheet, but it just didn’t happen. Sometimes hockey is cruel like that.

The only real reason the streak ended was that Ilya Sorokin decided he wasn’t going to be a part of letting it go on any longer. The Oilers outshot the Islanders 35-18, controlled the game, dominated the final 40 minutes, and deserved more than they got, but pro sports don’t care at all about what anyone deserves. But as sad as it was that McDavid’s streak was over, it doesn’t take anything away from what he just gave us. That run was special. The kind of stretch you tell people about years from now when you’re trying to explain just how ridiculous Connor McDavid was in his prime. Over a month of nightly dominance, highlights that kept outdoing each other, and a reminder that watching this guy play is a gift. The streak may be over, but man, that was awesome.

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