Islanders Semyon Varlamov Has Found His Groove

After a slower start out of the gate, Semyon Varlamov has found his groove with the New York Islanders emerging as the starter.

There was a time when New York Islanders fans were apprehensive about the Semyon Varlamov signing. He has three straight games in November with four goals allowed and the calls for Robin Lehner grew even louder than before.

Don’t get me wrong, I wanted the Islanders to re-sign Lehner as well but realized that Varly was likely a lateral move or pretty darn close to it on the ice. Since that bad stretch in November, he’s proved just that.

He is now getting the nod over Thomas Greiss as the starter, Greiss who has started hot, cooled off immensely allowing Varly to become the true number one.

Over his last five, Varlamov has a .946 save percentage and a 1.60 goals against average over that span. On the season he’s up to a .924 save percentage and a 2.30 goals against average. Not too shabby for the 31-year-old.

Varlamov’s save percentage is tied for sixth highest in the league while his goals-against average is tied for fifth. Clearly, Varly has been a more than capable replacement for Robin Lehner and honestly, he should be in the All-Star Game.

Nonetheless, the Isles have a number one goalie under contract for the next three years. Who knows what happens with Ilya Sorokin but the Isles don’t have to worry about that right now with how well Varlamov has played.

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