Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin had a career first on Monday. He was named the NHL’s first star of the week after going 3-0-0 with a 1.33 goals-against average and a .953 save percentage in wins over the Avalanche, Flyers and Lightning. He had been named the second- and third-star of the week previously in his career but never No. 1.

The Islanders’ current six-game winning streak doesn’t quite feel like past runs when Sorokin has been the only thing between them and disaster on a nightly basis. The defense in front of him has been strong, particularly a dramatically improved penalty kill.

New York Islanders netminder Ilya Sorokin has been playing an incredible brand of hockey lately. Over his last six starts, the 29-year-old is 6-0-0, with a 1.19 GAA, a .953 SV%, and one shutout. On Monday, the NHL named him their first start of the week:

For the Islanders to win seven of their past nine games, finally beginning to turn their season in the right direction, a lot of things had to start going right all at once. One of the more underrated factors: The emergence of Marcus Hogberg as a solid backup goalie.