Varlamov’s Grind to the Finish Line, The Definition of Resiliency

New York Islanders netminder Semyon Varlamov’s whirlwind of a season came to a close on Thursday night, as he capped it off with a 26-save performance to beat the Washington Capitals 5-1.

His shutout bid ended with just 42 seconds remaining in the third period, but he put together a strong showing.

“I really wish that he would have got a shutout tonight. He deserved it,” New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz said following the win. “He played really solid. His rebound control was really solid. They had a couple in-tight looks that he made look very easy, which is telling you that he’s, you know, he’s playing pretty well.”

This season has been a grind for Semyon Varlamov, but the grind started months before the season began.

Back on May 10, 2021, the last game of the 2021 regular season against the Boston Bruins, Varlamov was forced to leave the game with a lower-body injury after two periods and did not return.

Trotz called Varlamov’s injury “a little strain” and that if it were a playoff game, he would have stayed in.

However, Varlamov would miss the Islanders’ first game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs before getting the nod for Game 2 of the opening-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Varlamov played very well, showcasing zero concern, as he stopped 43 of 45 shots against in a 2-1 loss. But that would be his last start of round one, as Sorokin won the final four games as the Islanders advanced.

Varlamov was back in goal for Game 2 to Game 6 of the second round against the Boston Bruins, as he posted a 2.27 GAA with a .935 SV% as the Islanders advanced to the Semi-Finals for the second time in as many years.

He started all games of the seven-game series, posting a .910 SV% with a 2.49 GAA as the Islanders fell a game shy of reaching the Stanley Cup Finals.

It appeared that Varlamov’s “tweak” in the last game of the regular season was nothing to worry about, as Varlamov looked like himself throughout the postseason run.

However, Semyon Varlamov was not present when training camp began a couple of months later.

As training camp came and went and the preseason had concluded, Varlamov had yet to step on the ice with his teammates due to “soreness”.

After an 0-2-0 start to the season, Varlamov joined his team for practice as his return seemed near.

However, another seven games went by before Semyon Varlamov made his first start of the season, which came against the Minnesota Wild on Nov. 7 (Game 10).

In that game, Varlamov showcased rust despite stopping 34 of 37 shots, as a few goals went in that he would want back in the 5-2 loss.

He would go winless in his next four appearances to end the month of November, performing to an .881 SV% with a 3.46 GAA. Varlamov received just five goals of support as the Islanders were dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak.

December was a different story for Varlamov. Although it took until his third start of the month, eighth start total, to secure his first win of the season (3-1 win vs. Boston, 40 saves) he looked more like himself, posting a 1.98 GAA and a .940 SV% in four appearances.

The Islanders scored 3.5 goals of support per game for him that month.

Varlamov’s numbers spiked ever so slightly in the month of January, as he still was effective posting a .926 SV% and a 2.26 GAA in four appearances, despite a record of 1-3-0. That month, the Islanders scored just seven total goals for him.

In February, Varlamov made just two starts as he tested positive for COVID-19 on Feb. 12, prior to puck drop against the Calgary Flames.

Per the province of Alberta, Varlamov had to remain in Canada for seven days (day zero, 5 days in protocol) before he could leave Canada.

Varlamov would make one final start in the month of February, as he stopped 30 of 34 shots in a 5-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Feb. 26.

March would allow Varlamov to start a season-high nine games (5-3-1), with a .919 SV% and a 3.00 GAA. He picked up his first shutout of the season as he stopped all 24 shots he faced against the Ottawa Senators on Mar. 22.

That start came the day after the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline, in which there were rumors Varlamov could be on the move. He has another year remaining on his contract with a $5 million cap hit. However, Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello elected to keep his veteran netminder, as he believed it was essential to the continued growth of Ilya Sorokin.

Varlamov made six starts in the month of April, with a 2-4-0 record, an .894 SV%, and a 3.20 GAA.

On Apr. 1, Varlamov shut out the cross-town rival New York Rangers for his best start of the season, stopping all 27 shots that came his way as the Islanders started to gain traction in the wild-card race, which no one thought possible a month prior.

That start came less than 24 hours after Varlamov stopped 30 of 32 shots in a 5-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

It was the first time Varlamov looked like the netminder we had seen back in his Vezina-caliber 2021 season.

Semyon Varlamov only made 29 starts in 2021-22, with a record of 10-17-2, a 2.88 GAA, a .912 SV% and two shutouts. It was just the second time since 2011-12 (1st year in Colorado) he had not started 30 or more games.

“He’s had a little bit of a tough season by trying to catch, catch the moving train, and it must have been twice as hard for him because ‘A’ he started trying to catch up to everybody, ‘B’ we had, you know, not our normal defense package for a long time and then ‘C’ we got shut down a whole bunch so anytime he would get some momentum he got shut down. It was just one of those years.”

Teammate Josh Bailey spoke as well on Semyon Varlamov.

“I mean, we love Varly,” Josh Bailey said. “You know, true pro, great teammate. I think you won’t find a guy that can say a bad word about him. He’s just a great guy and a heck of a goalie. And you know, we didn’t give him enough run support at times this year. He still never wavered, never complained. (He) just kept working…had a really good season even if maybe the wins aren’t there. But it wasn’t his fault.”