Trotz Hints Goaltending Plan, ‘I’ll Probably Lean to the Guy That’s Hot Now’

Over the last eight games, New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz has alternated his starting netminders. It was vital for him to get both goaltenders going due to this last stretch of games, as well as for the rigorous schedule that lies ahead following the 2022 All-Star break.

With the Islanders 17 points out of the second wild-card spot, the game plan in goal has changed. “I really felt that this stretch that we had to get both going because our game had so many breaks in it, that I really felt that we needed both,” Trotz said following Sunday’s morning skate. If I have my preference, I’ll probably lean to the guy that’s hot right now.”

Trotz has seen the importance of goaltending tandems during his time on the island and had much success, from Thomas Greiss and Robin Lehner to Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin. But in all of his seasons, he’s had to ride the hot hand at one point or another.

When the 2021-22 campaign began, Trotz had no choice but to ride Ilya Sorokin, with Semyon Varlamov still dealing with a nagging injury. Upon Varlamov’s return, Trotz stated that Sorokin would start at around a three-to-one ratio.

But then Varlamov turned it up, and Trotz realized that he was very close to getting his tandem back to full strength. However, the Islanders have struggled, specifically against playoff opponents.

It is safe to say that Trotz is leaning towards going with Ilya Sorokin more often.

The Islanders are 4-0-0 in Sorokin’s last four outings, with the second-year nemtinder owning a .935 SV%, with a 1.50 GAA and a GSAA of 0.52. The Islanders are 1-3-0 in Semyon Varlamov’s last four starts, with the veteran netminder posting a .926 SV% with a 2.26 GAA and a -0.52 GSAA.

The biggest difference has been the strength of opponents, with Varlamov being tasked with the opponents that are currently in a playoff spot.

The Islanders have not played well in any of the games against playoff foes, and Varlamov has made a few mistakes that have not helped his team’s cause in the collection of two points, or at the very least one.

With it only being Sorokin’s second season in the NHL, has he done enough to show that he can handle the workload?

We have seen Sorokin play stretches of hockey and play quite well. We saw him carry the Islanders through the first round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins and then we saw him start the first nine games of the season.

Over that first stretch in Varlamov’s absence, Sorokin was the New York Islanders MVP, with a .939 SV% and a 1.98 GAA. That included back-to-back shutouts against the Arizona Coyotes and Vegas Golden Knights.

What does riding the hot hand mean?

The Islanders have one more set of back-to-backs before a break in action this upcoming Tuesday and Wednesday against the Ottawa Senators and Seattle Kraken.

It will more likely be a split unless Sorokin has an effortless night against Ottawa (projecting him as the starter). If Sorokin does get the start for both, that will lead to significant time between Varlamov’s starts, not something I see Trotz electing to do.

After the All-Star break, the New York Islanders head on their Western Canada road trip for three games before a battle with the Sabres in Buffalo to close out the trip.

There’s a back-to-back against the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames, so it’s realistic that Sorokin gets the first start out of the break against the Vancouver Canucks, one of the two back-to-backs gets the final start against Buffalo.

The New York Islanders do not have another back-to-back situation until March 10 and 11.

Depending on how hot Sorokin gets, we could see him take the reigns and start maybe 12 of the next 16 games. It’s not realistic that Varlamov will only get starts on back-to-backs, but that does not mean he gets many.

The only certain thing we know right now is that Trotz has changed his game plan as he understands the points at stake and the climb the Islanders have in front of them.