This former Avalanche goalie is having an excellent postseason for the Islanders.
This former Avalanche goalie is having an excellent postseason for the Islanders.
The New York Islanders are currently down 3-1 in the series against the Carolina Hurricanes. While they are one loss away from elimination, former Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov should not be blamed. He has been nothing but excellent for the Islanders.
Varlamov, 36, won the Islanders' crease at the beginning of the playoffs because of his remarkable play down the stretch. Now, in the playoffs with the Islanders, he has put up some strong performances.
While Varlamov is 1-2-0 this postseason in four appearances, his .930 SV% and 2.08 GAA perfectly display that he has not been the problem for the Islanders. Instead, the Islanders have not given him the greatest of goal support. With that, Islanders star Ilya Sorokin struggled mightily in his lone playoff appearance.
However, Varlamov's remarkable play in Game 4, in particular, was his top performance. The veteran netminder saved an impressive 42 out of 44 shots in the Islanders' double overtime win over the Hurricanes. Had Varlamov not been spectacular in that matchup, the Islanders surely would have been swept.
Varlamov has seen marvelous results reuniting with former Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy, and the Avs legend is rewarding him because of it. Let's see if Varlamov can keep this kind of play up from here and help the Islanders get back into the series.
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