NY Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov going through early season struggles

There's little question that NY Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov was the savior of the 2023-24 season. While Ilya Sorokin struggled for the first time in his Islanders career, Varly grabbed the starter's role and carried the team to the playoffs.

With an expanded role to start this season after Sorokin underwent off-season back surgery, Varlamov has been far from his normal self.

Semyon Varlamov struggles in net

Among all goalies to appear in at least four games this season, Varlamov sits sixth from the bottom with a 3.72 GAA, and second last in SV% at .856. His crease mate, Sorokin, has been off to a stellar start, fifth in the league with a .937 SV% and third with a 1.74 GAA.

One of the Islanders' strengths since Varly and Sorokin joined forces has been their goaltending. There were few teams who could trust either of their goalies, but with Sorokin's struggles last season and Varlamov now, it has become an issue for the Islanders.

Head Coach Patrick Roy, who has spent more time with Varlamov than anybody else, wasn't shy with his words regarding his netminder after the team's 6-3 loss to the Florida Panthers on Saturday.

"It's tough because Varly has been so good for us," said Roy after a long pause. "And he's a big boy. He knows he could have maybe get a couple of those ."

Today, Roy had no reservations about turning to Varly again, knowing both goalies must pull their weight for this team to succeed.

“We're gonna rotate," Roy said according to Stefan Rosner of The Hockey News. "That's what we're gonna do again, Anaheim and Columbus. Varly is gonna be back, and I'm happy for Varly to be back, quite honestly, against Columbus. Varly knows and I know he will bounce back.”

Varlamov and Sorokin both clicking give the Islanders a massive advantage over every opponent they'll come up against. Varly will need to find his game while the Islanders struggle to find goals of their own.