Ilya Sorokin's support looks shaky after Semyon Varlamov's return

New York Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov should be an early favorite for the Bill Masterton Trophy. His return to the ice is nothing short of remarkable, especially after it was believed that the knee injuries he sustained were career-ending.

His return has been so impressive that the Isles were confident enough to put veteran Vitek Vanacek on waivers.

And so, Varlamov will be tasked with relieving starter Ilya Sorokin when needed. But unless Varlamov can return to some semblance of his former self, the Islanders will live and die with Sorokin.

Sorokin is certainly an elite-level goalie. But he can only paper over Varlamov in the crease to a certain extent. Unless Varlamov can start 30 games or so, Sorokin will once again carry most of the load this season. And yes, there will be some games that Sorokin can steal. But that will only take the team so far.

Varlamov will have to become a reliable backup, the kind that Peter DeBoer can deploy at a moment’s notice. Otherwise, the organization will have to figure out another solution to support Sorokin moving forward.

Varlamov doesn’t have to be brilliant, just good enough

The good news is that Varlamov doesn’t have to be brilliant. He just has to be good enough.

The Islanders have already shown that they’re the kind of team that can play decent defense. As long as that’s the case, a goalie like Varlamov will only need to make the sort of saves his team expects from him.

While it would be nice to see Varlamov somehow stand on his head, the reality is that the Islanders won’t need that if they do their job.

At least that was the case on Tuesday night against the New York Rangers. Varlamov made 19 saves on 22 shots. However, the Islanders could not give Varlamov enough run support, despite the veteran netminder keeping them in the game all night long.

The start is certainly an encouraging one and will hopefully lead to bigger and better things this season. While the defensive effort is there, more offense will be crucial in taking advantage of the solid starts by both Varlamov and Sorokin.

The Islanders have the legs to become one of the most dangerous teams this season. They have a decent all-around team. However, if goaltending suddenly becomes a weak link in the chain, the season could go sideways in a hurry.

That’s not the case thus far. So, let’s hope that the team can keep it up and show that it’s built to go on a deep run come next spring.

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