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Islanders Activate Semyon Varlamov Off Injured Reserve

Originally posted on NYI Hockey Now
By Andrew Fantucchio | Last updated 1/23/24

At long last, one of the best goaltending tandems in the NHL is back together as the New York Islanders activated Semyon Varlamov off injured reserve on Monday, reuniting him with his crease mate Ilya Sorokin.

In a related move, the team sent goalie Ken Appleby back down to AHL Bridgeport.

#Isles have activated Semyon Varlamov off IR. Ken Appleby has been sent down to Bridgeport.

— Andrew Fantucchio (@A_Fantucchio) January 22, 2024

Varlamov hasn’t played since he suffered a lower-body injury against the Colorado Avalanche on Jan. 2. In 14 starts this year, Varlamov has a record of 6-4-2 with two shutouts, a 2.78 GAA and a .918 save percentage.

Since Varlamov went down, Sorokin has started nine consecutive games for the Islanders as part of 14 straight appearances. Although Sorokin has played some of his best hockey lately, Varlamov is more than capable of filling in for him and supplying him with some well-earned rest.

Another added benefit of having Varlamov back for the Islanders is that he’s the one player who has prior experience playing for new head coach Patrick Roy.

Varlamov was with the Avalanche, while Roy was the head coach in Colorado from 2013-2016. When Roy won the Jack Adams Award in 2013, Varlamov finished second in the running for the Vezina Trophy behind Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins.

The Islanders welcome the Vegas Golden Knights to UBS Arena tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. EST.

This article first appeared on NYI Hockey Now and was syndicated with permission.

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