Semyon Varlamov hasn’t started three straight games in exactly two years, but he might have a chance to do it Monday night in Philadelphia.
Islanders coach Patrick Roy hadn’t yet decided who would start in goal against the Flyers in a huge four-point game when he spoke after Saturday’s loss to the Lightning, but if he believes While Varlamov can handle the workload, there was nothing in the goalie’s play in the 4-1 loss to suggest he is losing the hot hand.
“He was outstanding,” Roy said of Varlamov, who finished the night with 36 saves behind often shoddy defensive zone coverage. “In the first half, we gave up a lot of chances. He kept us in the game. Even in the second half we didn’t give up a lot of chances, but he kept us in the game and made those big saves.
Ilya Sorokin having experienced difficulties during his last tenures, returning to him in an unavoidable situation could be a risk.
While Sorokin’s ceiling is undoubtedly among the highest in the league, Varlamov has been the better guard as of late, looking more aggressive in his territory and giving up fewer rebounds.
He’s also simply stopping the puck at a higher rate, with a .916 save percentage over his last five starts compared to Sorokin’s .875.
“I hope Varly feels good about himself,” Roy said. “You want to give your team a chance to win, so I don’t think he was affected (by losing). He shouldn’t be affected by this.
Roy liked what he saw Sunday after switching his defense pairings, with Alexander Romanov moving back to Noah Dobson’s left, Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock coming together and Mike Reilly skating with Robert Bortuzzo.
“Noah and Rommy played very well in the last 40 minutes,” he said. “It was good to have Pelly and Pully together.”
The back-to-back matchup that begins Monday against the Flyers is the last of the season for the Islanders.
They face Chicago on Tuesday, having yet to win in their first nine games in the second end of a back-to-back season.
The Blackhawks have beaten them before this season, in overtime on Jan. 19 in Lane Lambert’s final game as head coach.
The Islanders did not practice Sunday as they traveled to Philadelphia.
New York Post
