The New York Islanders lost in a shootout against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday, moving their record to 0-2 after overtime. It has been a problem for New York, with a 2-10 record in the shootout since the beginning of the 2023-24 season. Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin has struggled in that format and has enlisted the help of head coach Patrick Roy to fix the problem.

“He asked me about how I was playing in the shootout. Unfortunately, I didn't have many shootouts in my career […] I want to force guys to deke me instead of shooting. At the end of the day, it's a great step,” Roy said, per Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News.

Roy retired before the shootout was how NHL games ended, but he does have experience stopping penalty shots. Sorokin is 7-16 in shootouts in his career, with a dreadful .623 save percentage. That is 113th in NHL history out of 135 goalies with at least 40 shootout attempts against.

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The Islanders' season will not live and die in the shootout. They need to get as many regulation points as possible to break through the logjam in the Eastern Conference. But Sorokin's shootout issues are a long-term problem that needs to be solved.

Roy is likely on thin ice as the Islanders' coach. Mathieu Darche is in his first year as the general manager and elected to keep Roy on board when he was hired. But the reality of the league is that executives like to have their own guys in place. But if Roy can help fix the struggling Sorokin, he would make a great argument to keep his job.

Sorokin was off to a soaring start to his NHL career. But during the 2023-24 season, he struggled down the stretch. That led to a .907 save percentage last season, which is the lowest of his career. This year is not off to a great start, but things can change if Roy lifts him up.