What makes Ilya Sorokin an elite goaltender?

As the old saying goes, a great goaltender can make a good team better. Right now, that’s what Ilya Sorokin is doing for the New York Islanders.

Sorokin has been widely considered one of the best netminders in the league, though the team in front of him hasn’t been anything special at times. This season, he has been exceptional, especially on Thursday night against the Edmonton Oilers when he posted a 35-save shutout.

Sorokin’s numbers are up there with the best in the league, and is quickly becoming a candidate for the Vezina Trophy. Along with helping the Islanders stay in playoff contention, the Russian backstop has a record of 15-11-2, with a 2.47 goals-against average, a .915 save percentage and five shutouts.

On Friday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Carter Hutton explains what makes Sorokin one of the best goaltenders in the game.

Carter Hutton: He is absolutely dialed in on the puck. That’s something that I’ve learned in watching his game. If you watch his head and his hands, he’s always aggressive toward the puck. He’s locked in. It’s it’s unbelievable. His footwork last night was so great, and again, you get away with a few lucky ones…But he made so many good saves look easy. What I’ve learned about him and his fitness with him and Igor Sheskterin, the way they train is unbelievable. They beat every single play on their feet. They never get caught sliding out of position. :ast night was a great example of it. It kind of worked out well for us in the fact that I was beating the drum a little bit yesterday about him being the favorite against Thompson down the stretch. Last night was a great example. A team that had no business winning in a hockey game, they hang around, hang around, hang around, find a way to get a power play goal and steal a 1-0 win on the road. That was an absolute goalie performance on both sides, in my opinion.

You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…