We have an idea of what is going on with the the veteran goaltender on Long Island.
On Thursday, New York Islanders’ head coach Lane Lambert said that Semyon Varlamov is day-to-day with a lower-body issue.
Varlamov was out with an undisclosed injury late last month, sitting out the Isles’ 5-1 win over the Washington Capitals on Dec. 29. The 35-year-old started this past Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche, but had to leave the game due to injury.
Ilya Sorokin came in relief, as the Islanders lost, 5-4 in overtime.
There has been no indication of how severe Varlamov’s injury is, nor is there any timeline for his return. The Russian-born has fallen into a backup role to fellow countryman, which was been a successful formula for the Islanders’ surge back into playoff contention.
Before the injury, Varlamov was 6-4-2 with a 2.78 goals-against average, a .918 save percentage and two shutouts.
The Islanders had an idea of the extent of Varlamov’s injury, as they called up goaltender Ken Appleby from their American Hockey League affiliate, the Bridgeport Islanders, on Wednesday.
Sorokin is expected to keep playing while Varlamov is on the shelf, though Appleby has some NHL experience. That came in the 2017-18 season, when he made three appearances with the New Jersey Devils.
In 11 games with Bridgeport, Appleby is 5-5-0 with a 2.88 GAA and .897 SV%.
Varlamov has been fairly healthy since coming over from the Avalanche in 2019. Only missing a couple of games last season with a lower-body injury, just missing a short amount of time due to illness during the 2021-22 campaign.
The former Washington Capital joins a list of key players out of the lineup. Defensemen Robert Bortuzzo (IR, lower-body), Ryan Pulock (LTIR, lower-body) and Adam Pelech (LTIR, upper-body) are also on the shelf.
The Islanders (17-10-10) are set to take on the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night. They are currently third in the Metropolitan Division, seven points back of the first-place New York Rangers.
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