Destroy socket before or after removing it from array

In my node.js application I have a collection of client sockets as an array. When a communication error occurs, I simply call destroy on the socket.

My question is: should I destroy the socket before or after removing it from the array? The documentation doesn't say much.

var clientSockets = []

var destroySocketBefore = function(socket) {
    socket.destroy()

    var socketIdx = clientSockets.indexOf(socket)

    if (socketIdx > -1) {
        clientSockets.splice(socketIdx, 1)
    }
}    

var destroySocketAfter = function(socket) {        
    var socketIdx = clientSockets.indexOf(socket)

    if (socketIdx > -1) {
        clientSockets.splice(socketIdx, 1)
    }

    socket.destroy()
}

1. In the case of destroySocketBefore, I am not sure if the socket will be found in the array if I destroy it before searching for it, so there is a possibility that array still incorporates invalid sockets in subsequent logic.

2. In the case of destroySocketAfter, I am not sure if calling destroy on a socket that was removed from array will have the desired result. Is there a possibility that the system will delete the socket object after splicing the array, so sometimes I get to call destroyon a null object.

I tested and it seems that both methods work as there is no difference between them, so I am not sure which method is the correct one.

via Alexandru Irimiea