Islanders News: Sorokin’s shutout, Barzal’s journey

The Penguins evened the series with the Senators last night, but it was a costly 1-0 victory: Brian Rust and Justin Schultz each left the game with injuries after suffering big hits. Playoff carnage.

Islanders-ish Reads

• More on Mathew Barzal’s WHL championship, as they overcame lots of adversity this season — including losing Barzal to the NHL for a while, and then to illness. [My Northwest] And here’s more on their comeback OT win to clinch the title.
• Over in Europe, Ilya Sorokin made 24 saves in Russia’s 5-0 shutout win over Latvia at the Worlds. [IIHF]
• Carp lad Calvin de Haan logged 17 minutes in Canada’s 5-0 win over Norway. [IIHF]
• The U.S. and Russia face off today for the top spot in Group A. Meanwhile, be nice to Dan, whose Italian countrymen exited the tournament with a magnificently tragic own goal.
• On this day: The Islanders beat the Canucks 3-1 to become the first U.S. team to win three consecutive Stanley Cups. (Spoiler alert: They’d win one more.)

NHL Playoffs and More

The Penguins bench got testy at times, with goal scorer Phil Kessel’s rants “par for the course.” Mike Sullivan said it’s cool, they call them “man’s arguments” -- which I suppose is in contrast to the little boy fits Sidney Crosby used to throw.

Some reporter asked Sens coach Guy Boucher about what fans think on Twitter.

• Back out West, the Predators are jacked for Game 3 at home vs. the Ducks. [NHL]
• While his older brother stars for the Preds, Malcolm Subban looks forward to making a mark with the Bruins. [Boston Globe]
• A timeless topic: Masks are a canvas for goalie artistic expression...they’re also a lab for artists to figure out what kind of paint treatment survives constant abuse. [NY Times]
• Stephane da Costa couldn’t make it work in Ottawa, but now his performance for France at the Worlds is garnering some return-to-NHL buzz. [PPP]