Not too much was initially made out of the New York Islanders calling up goalie Ken Appleby from AHL Bridgeport when they didn’t have a game yesterday, especially when reports from Cap Friendly showed he was sent back down later on.
But ears began to perk up when Appleby was on the ice for the Islanders’ morning skate on Friday ahead of their game against the Washington Capitals.
At least for tonight, Appleby will backup starter Ilya Sorokin while Semyon Varlamov is day-to-day with maintenance, according to the team.
In 12 starts, Varlamov has a record of 6-4-2, including two shutouts, with a .918 save percentage and a 2.75 GAA.
On Wednesday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Varlamov came in to start the third period with the Islanders already trailing 6-0. He allowed one goal on seven shots. He did not appear to be in any discomfort at the end of the game.
Although his role has been limited, Varlamov is a big reason why the Islanders have achieved the level of success they have in recent years.
However, the Islanders have been more reliant on Varlamov this season with Sorokin’s performance taking a slight dip compared to the elite level it was last year. Without Varlamov, the Islanders will need that version of Sorokin again.
“We’ve done that in the past,” head coach Lane Lambert said. “So far this year, for the most part, Varlamov has played quite a bit, and we’ve backed Ilya off a little bit. I don’t anticipate it being a problem.”
Appleby has not played in an NHL game since 2018 but was rather stellar in three starts for the New Jersey Devils that year.
The 28-year-old has a .898 save percentage and a GAA of 2.86 in 10 games for Bridgeport this season.
“He’s played well down there,” Lambert said.” We’ll see what happens [if he has to come in.]”
Appleby signed with New Jersey as an undrafted free agent in 2015. He was also a part of the Winnipeg Jets organization from 2019-21 before joining the Islanders.
The Islanders are fourth in the Metropolitan Division with 41 points. They’ll play their final game against the Capitals this season tonight at 7:30 p.m. EST at UBS Arena.
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