It was not that long ago that the New York Islanders were out of a playoff spot in the extremely competitive Eastern Conference.
They were not playing well defensively, not capitalizing on their chances, not getting good goaltending, and were struggling on special teams. They looked like a team that deserved to be on the outside looking in when it came to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Do not look now, but as of this writing (Tuesday night, April 9), the Islanders are third in the Metropolitan Division, seventh in the Eastern Conference, and 15th in the NHL with a record of 37-27-15 for 87 points. While certain players have stepped up, the main reason why the Islanders are in a playoff spot is because of their goaltender, Semyon Varlamov.
Going into the season, it was supposed to be Ilya Sorokin who would lead the Islanders into the postseason. Sorokin, 28, was one of the best goaltenders in the league last season he was 31-22-0-7 with a 2.34 goals-against average, a .924 save percentage, and six shutouts.
It has been a much different season for Sorokin this year. He has been inconsistent, has allowed a lot of soft goals, and has had trouble coming up with the big saves as he is currently 24-19-0-11 with a 3.02 goals-against average, a .908 save percentage, and two shutouts.
With Sorokin struggling, Islanders’ head coach Patrick Roy turned to Varlamov. For Roy, Varlamov, 35, is someone he is familiar with, someone who helped him win a Jack Adams Award in 2014 as the best coach of the league in 2014 with the Colorado Avalanche, and someone that he knows can steal games for him.
Varlamov has done all of that and more for Roy over the last several games for Roy and his Islanders. He is currently 12-8-0-4 with a 2.72 goals-against average, a .916 save percentage, and three shutouts.
He has especially been good over his last six games. Varlamov has won five of them and has done the following in them:
- March 23 vs. the Winnipeg Jets: Stopped 32 of 35 shots and got the victory.
- March 28 vs. the Florida Panthers: Stopped 26 of 28 shots and got the victory.
- March 30 vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning: Stopped 36 of 39 shots in a losing effort.
- April 1 vs. the Philadelphia Flyers: Stopped 31 of 34 shots and got the victory.
- April 6 vs. the Nashville Predators: 42-save shutout victory.
- April 9 vs. the New York Rangers: Stopped 32 of 34 shots and got the victory.
Not only is Varlamov winning hockey games, but he is doing so in a convincing fashion. He is not allowing soft goals, is stopping the shots he should stop, is putting himself in a good position to stop second and third opportunities, and is also coming up with the big save when his team needs it the most.
Varlamov’s strong play as of late has earned a lot of praise from Roy. After his unbelievable performance against the Predators on Saturday night, Roy spoke glowingly of his goaltender to the team’s website reporter Cory Wright.
“He was outstanding. He looked so confident out there. It looked like it was an easy game and I was happy to see him play that way,” Roy said. “He won the game for us tonight.”
“I’m not surprised. It’s funny because, before coming here, they told me how good he was in the playoffs, the series against Boston and Tampa (2021), the last one, losing 1-0 in Game Seven. Apparently, he was outstanding. But am I surprised? No.
“I have a Jack Adams because of him. So, I know how good he is. And I know what he could do when he gets in that zone.”
If Varlamov continues to be in the zone for the Islanders, they may end up shocking some people come playoff time.
ITR 39: Conference Finals – Inside The Rink
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