The New York Islanders announced today that netminder Marcus Hogberg has been recalled from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Islanders, on an emergency basis. In their announcement, the Islanders added that incumbent starting goalie Ilya Sorokin “has a small nagging issue” and the club “is taking advantage of the holiday break to rest” Sorokin. The expectation is that Sorokin will be ready to play after the break.
The Islanders play the New Jersey Devils tomorrow, and then will wait until Saturday for their next game, which comes against the New York Rangers. Per Stephen Whyno of The Associated Press, this development indicates that backup netminder David Rittich will get the start tomorrow night against the Devils.
There have not been any reports of an injury to Sorokin prior to today, so this development comes as a bit of a surprise. Sorokin has received a substantial diet of starts so far in 2025-26, playing 24 games compared to Rittich’s 12. Sorokin’s performance hasn’t given any clear indication that he’s managing an injury, either, as he’s posted a solid .910 save percentage across his 24 games played.
Rittich, 33, is a veteran backup who the Islanders signed over the summer to a one-year, $1MM AAV deal. He’s served as the backup while former tandem goalie Semyon Varlamov has remained out with an injury. Rittich has gone 7-3-2 as an Islander with a .908 save percentage and 2.54 goals against average.
He’ll be backed up tomorrow by Hogberg, a 31-year-old netminder who served as Sorokin’s backup for much of last season. He posted a .878 save percentage across 15 games on Long Island last season, and has a .881 save percentage in 14 games for Bridgeport in 2025-26. He’s playing out the second year of the two-year deal that brought him to New York and his contract carries a one-way structure this season.