Should NY Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello start looking for a backup goaltender now?

With the Islanders still in the hunt for a playoff spot, goaltending needs to be addressed

The injury situation the NY Islanders have endured this season has been well documented, but the recent turn of events may have GM Lou Lamoriello now looking for a goalie. The Islanders have Jakub Skarek backing up starter Ilya Sorokin due to injuries to their second and third options, which doesn't bode well for the team. At such a critical juncture in the season, the Isles have found themselves only four points out of the playoffs with just over two weeks until the NHL trade deadline. The team's original backup had been Semyon Varlamov, until his last game on November 29th. Since then, the 36-year-old has been mysteriously unavailable for action and has been seen only a handful of times skating with the team, the last being January 2nd by Stefan Rosner, with no updates on his condition since February 1st. The minutes that Skarek has played have only proven that he is not NHL-ready, so a replacement should be on the radar of Lamoriello.

Hogberg shows signs of brilliance until injury shuts him down

Marcus Hogberg was signed over the summer to fill a spot in Bridgeport, the Islanders AHL affiliate, after an unremarkable showing in Bridgeport, going 2-5-3 with a 3.26 GAA and .898 SA%. Truly nothing remarkable, but he has had success in the Swedish Hockey League. In 2023-24, Hogberg was named Goalie of the Year and Most Valuable Player in the SHL for Linköping HC. He had a 2.51 GAA and .914 SA%, while starting over 40 games for the third consecutive season. Appearing so far this season in seven games with five starts, he has gone 2-2-0, with a 1.45 GAA and .947 SA%. His last start came against a very good Carolina Hurricanes on Jan. 25th, where with about five minutes remaining in regulation, he suffered what looked to be a hand injury. After time expired with the game going into OT, Hogberg pulled himself from the game, as the injury was too much for him to bear. He was placed on IR with defenseman Ryan Pulock, who was also injured just seconds into the same game on Jan. 29th. His timeline for return is very close to the NHL trade deadline of March 7th. As of this writing, no update on his recovery has been given by the team.