Early on against the Ottawa Senators, it looked like another long night for New York Islanders backup netminder Semyon Varlamov.
But after Ottawa’s first two goals were taken off the board, the 38-year-old netminder settled in, something he couldn’t do against the New York Rangers in his first start since Nov. 29, 2024.
Varlamov gave his team a chance to win. And that’s all you can ask for from your backup at the NHL level.
After allowing four goals on 23 shots in a 5-2 loss to the Rangers, Varlamov stopped 18 of 19 shots through regulation and overtiem against Ottawa before making one save in the shootout. He stopped Drake Batherson with the glove, Tim Stützle missed the net on the second attempt, and Shane Pinto scored glove side for the eventual game-winner.
Happy Free Friday.
Of the 19 shots he faced through regulation, six came on the penalty kill, and Varlamov stood tall to help the Islanders kill all four Ottawa power plays.
That included Varlamov denying a one-time Senators try in overtime.
After the first period, which saw Ottawa’s two disallowed goals both beat him short-side, Varlamov closed those holes.
He was hugging the posts. He was out at the top of his crease. It was vintage Varlamov.
He tracked pucks, controlled his rebounds, and used his new knees to explode across the crease, making multiple one-time stops.
Not only that, but his rebounds off those one-timers went to the corners, showcasing his strong tracking and rebound control.
According to Natural Stat Trick, Varlamov had a 2.99 Expected Goals Against, stopping five of six high-danger chances.
After Varlamov’s first start against the Rangers, Islanders captain Bo Horvat spoke about what his teammate had overcome to return to the NHL.
“’Varly’, for him to go through what he went through and come back from having both knees done, yeah, it’s a phenomenal story,” Horvat said previously.
Now, Varlamov has a performance to show for all that hard work.
DeBoer’s opening statement on Varlamov: “I think first off, huge game by our goaltender. I can’t say enough about his journey and what he’s done to get here, and then what he did tonight. So good to see. I think everyone wished we could have won one for him, but he was outstanding. PK was outstanding, and we got a big point in a really tough building, so that was the good stuff.”
On Varlamov improving from game to game: “When you miss that kind of time, and especially at that position, I can’t even imagine it. I never played that position, but that has to be the hardest position to come back from an extended absence because so much of it is timing and seeing the puck compared to a forward or defenseman.
“And you can’t replicate game action in practice, either, for that. We saw game one. He got through with the Rangers. I thought he was pretty good. And then tonight, he looked like the old Varly, which is great to see, and it’s great for us because we’re going to need him.”
On the Islanders defending around Varlamov:
“We’re defending hard. We’ve been working on defending since day one of training camp, and for exactly this type of reason. You come into a building like this on the road against a team with a really good record, with a lot of firepower, and I thought we defended really hard tonight in our own end of the rink around Varly. And when we bent a little bit, he made some saves.”
Varlamov spoke on the game and said the following line, which stuck out to me:
“There’s a lot of, I won’t say new things, but just different moments for me, like going to OT and then experiencing the shootout. I haven’t been in that position for a while.”
Now, Varlamov was talking about experiences, but since he’s been out, the game has continued to evolve.
Shooters are changing angles on just about every shot with the semi toe-drag release. Players are doing more creative things with the puck on their sticks.
I remember a few years ago when I was talking to former Islanders netminder Cory Schneider, who retired in 2023, and he made that point.
After working his way back from hip surgery, Schneider said he’d line up for a shot, only to get beat, and he couldn’t figure out why.
He learned that everyone was using the Auston Matthews toe-drag release, so he was getting caught off his angle by an inch, which made the difference between a save and a goal against.
It ultimately was something Schneider couldn’t adjust to.
Varlamov, who has, of course, seen that release, still has to deal with the different ways players shoot as the game gets faster every year.
That’s part of why getting back to NHL speed after almost two years away isn’t as simple as just getting healthy.
The Islanders entered the season hoping Varlamov could make 30 starts so starter Ilya Sorokin could remain fresh throughout the season.
With Varlamov out, Marcus Högberg and David Rittich couldn’t provide that relief.
For Varlamov to hit that mark this season, he’ll need to start roughly one out of every three games.
After Varlamov’s first start against the Rangers, DeBoer made it clear that he believes the Islanders have two goaltenders they can trust.
“I really believe with what I saw in Varly that we have two very good goalies,” DeBoer said. “If Varly plays the way I feel he’s going to play as the season goes on, whether it’s tonight or as the season goes forward, I think we’re going to be comfortable playing both guys in whatever building we’re in, in whatever divisional game we’re in, which is a great luxury to have. That’s my vision, and I think why not jump into that early?”
That confidence was also why DeBoer elected to start Varlamov against Ottawa, despite the veteran’s struggles in his first outing.
“I don’t want to overplay (Sorokin), so I want to get him in there, and I also don’t want to have him sit for two or three weeks with what he’s gone through and be really cold going in there. There’s a fine line there,” DeBoer said ahead of the Ottawa game.
“I mean, there is no perfect spot, but I’m very confident in where he’s at and the kind of game he’s going to give us.”
But for Varlamov, it’s a game-by-game thing, and his road back to the NHL didn’t end when the puck dropped to start the season. It’s a process to work back to NHL speed after almost two years away.
No one would judge Varlamov if it took him a while to look the part, but it would understandably be concerning if the Islanders were losing games because of him out of the gate.
But it only took two starts to see vintage Varlamov.
And while one strong performance doesn’t mean he’s completely back to the Varlamov we were accustomed to seeing from 2019 until his injury, Thursday night was certainly a significant step in that direction.
If he can return to form, the Islanders will have more confidence in giving Sorokin a break.
That could go a long way toward their chances of qualifying for the 2027 Stanley Cup Playoffs after missing out in each of the last two seasons.
It’s not a coincidence that the Islanders haven’t made the playoffs since Varlamov went down.
