By Canadian Press

Winnipeg Jets can’t solve Isles’ Ilya Sorokin, blanked for 1st time this season

Nov 6, 2021 | 8:04 PM

WINNIPEG — A first-period goal by Anders Lee was all the New York Islanders needed to end the Winnipeg Jets’ undefeated string at home with a 2-0 victory at Canada Life Centre Saturday night.

Ilya Sorokin, playing in his ninth consecutive game in the Islanders’ net to start the season, stopped 24 shots for his third shutout of the season, tied for the league lead. He improved his —  and his team’s — record to 5-2-2.

Eric Comrie stopped 29-of-31 shots in the Jets net, losing his first game of the season after three victories.

The Islanders opened the scoring early in the game when right winger Josh Bailey found Lee all alone in front of Comrie. His wrist shot beat the Jets backup high to the glove side at the 3:12 mark.

The Islanders narrowly missed doubling their lead just a couple of minutes later when centre Mathew Barzal was by himself in virtually the same spot but Comrie thwarted him with his right pad.

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After a scoreless second period, the Islanders took a 2-0 lead within a minute of the third period as centre Brock Nelson took a nifty tip pass from winger Kyle Palmieri at the Jets blueline. He skated in to the top of the right circle and ripped a wrist shot past Comrie on his blocker side just 47 seconds in.

The Jets pulled Comrie with a little less than two minutes to go in the third period but were unable to beat Sorokin. The Jets managed no shots on net in the last four minutes of the game.

It was a scrappy affair with one fight in the second period between Jets winger Adam Lowry and Islanders defenceman Scott Mayfield. There were a number of other near-fights and countless face-washes in scrums.

The Islanders travel to play the Minnesota Wild Sunday night. It will be their 10th game of a 13-game season-opening road trip. It’s expected that Semyon Varlamov will make his first start of the season in the Islanders’ net.

The Jets host the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, the fourth contest of their season-long seven-game homestand.

A couple of Jets streaks came to an end Saturday. They had been riding an eight-game point streak (6-0-2) since opening the season with a pair of regulation losses and they had been undefeated at home (4-0-0).

The Islanders outshot the Jets 31-24. 

The Jets had defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 5-1 less than 24 hours earlier.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2021.

The Canadian Press