The New York Islanders have, in theory, two No. 1 goaltenders in Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin. Varlamov started 35 games to Sorokin’s 21 this shortened season, but the Russian rookie was almost as effective as the veteran Varly; Sorokin was 13-6-0-3 with a 2.17 GAA and .918 save percentage this season, not much of a drop from the 19-11-0-4/2.04/.929 line authored by Varlamov.
However, even though Varlamov had a bit of the edge, including an NHL high-tying seven shutouts, it was Sorokin in net for the Islanders’ 4-3 OT win over the Penguins in Game 1 of their Eastern playoff series on Sunday. That was because Varlamov left the May 10 regular-season finale with “a little strain” and wasn’t quite ready despite practicing Saturday, so it was Sorokin between the pipes with Corey Schneider behind him.
So, what will happen if Varlamov is ready for Game 2 or beyond? Head coach Barry Trotz says the decision will be made just like always: planned out as much as possible.
“We’ll see where Varly is in terms of health, he’s very close, but I trust both goalies,” Trotz said Monday. “That’s the great thing about having Ilya: we knew the transition from the KHL would be slower, but at the same time, his first start was by surprise and it didn’t go so well for us as a team. I don’t know if that set him back at all, but it got us taking a very cautious approach going forward with him.”
Regarding the decision not to rush Varlamov back for Game 1, Trotz had said that “we have two capable goalies and we’ll need both,” so the team was cautious and didn’t risk anything.
Sorokin came through with the help of the game-winner from Kyle Palmieri, and Trotz is lucky he has the luxury of a 1 and a 1A.
“We know Ilya’s ability is tremendous – we saw that in practice in the bubble,” Trotz said, “but our thought process is simple: whoever we put in net we feel comfortable with, and we don’t make excuses; we feel we’ll be equally as good every night.”
And credit to Sorokin for making that KHL transition as seamless as possible despite the early hiccups.
“Ilya is very calm and everybody loves him. He’s extremely low-maintenance, and tends to his own game and how we play, but he doesn’t watch a lot of hockey around the league,” Trotz said. “He has different interests, and he’s always reading. He’s a very intelligent young man who always has a smile on his face, and he’s really relaxed and confident in what he is as a goaltender and a person.”
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