Oct 6, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov (40) defends the net in the first period against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
EAST MEADOW, NY — The Islanders certainly are not taking the strength of their opponents or the logistics of their schedule into consideration when deciding when to give veteran goaltender Semyon Varlamov a start.
Tuesday night seemed like the perfect setting for the 38-year-old —who had missed 676 days after undergoing a double partial knee replacement — to ease into a second start of the season. The Islanders were at home with the lowly Vancouver Canucks in town.
Instead, starter Ilya Sorokin got the nod, meaning Varlamov will most likely go on Thursday against a 5-1-0 Senators squad in Ottawa. His first start in nearly two years came last week at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers.
Rather than prioritizing the easiest portions of the schedule for Varlamov to get in net, Islanders head coach Pete DeBoer’s main concern is getting Sorokin more days off amid busy stretches of the season.
“I think our goal here is I want to make sure Varly gets in the net at least once a week or once every 10 days,” DeBoer said on Tuesday. “Different parts of the schedule sometimes dictate different things. If we’re playing five games in 10 days, it might be more. If we’re playing three games in 10 days, it might be less.”
The current stretch that the Islanders are facing certainly fits into that busier classification. Including Tuesday’s matchup with the Canucks, they play four games in eight nights and five in 10.
“We’ve got kind of a loose framework where we don’t want to overwork Ilya,” DeBoer continued. “At the same time, we want to respect the fact that we have a great backup and we want to keep him working.”
It’s a good enough plan for the time being, though the situation plaguing the crosstown-rival Rangers serves as a stark reminder of just how delicate a team’s goalie strategy is. The Blueshirts lost star netminder Igor Shesterkin for the season after he suffered a lower-body injury on Friday against the Washington Capitals.
If anything were to happen to either Sorokin or Varlamov, the Islanders are in serious trouble, with Vitek Vanecek serving as an uninspiring No. 3 option.
“The Shesterkin injury alone shows you that the best-laid plans can blow up pretty quickly,” DeBoer said.
For more on Semyon Varlamov and the Islanders, visit AMNY.com
