New York Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov was brilliant to help his team defeat the Florida Panthers on Thursday night and no question deserves the chance to be back in between the pipes on Saturday.

SUNRISE, FL -- New York Islanders head coach Patrick Roy announced on Wednesday afternoon that he would be going with backup goaltender Semyon Varlamov against the Florida Panthers in their latest "must-win" game of the season. 

It was a gut move by the Hall of Fame goaltender, who had seen his starting netminder Ilya Sorokin drop his last six games and struggle to be at his best.

When asked by The Hockey News if Sorokin was in line to start their Saturday showdown against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Roy didn't have an answer.

"We haven't made any decision yet for Saturday. We're in a position where we are going to take it one game at a time," Roy said. "We know what six wins in a row does, but, unfortunately, we have to go one game at a time."

The gut move paid off as Varlamov was brilliant against the Panthers, stopping 26 of 28 shots to help secure a monumental 3-2 win at Amerant Bank Arena.

"He was stellar," Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock said. "He was playing the puck, seeing the puck, making the saves. I thought he was a brick wall back there for us."

Through two periods, Varlamov faced 14 shots, allowing two goals he could not stop after the Panthers' first goal ricocheted off Jean-Gabriel Pageau in front, while the second goal was a back-door tap-in after failed coverage.

Despite the two goals, Varlamov continued to make that "next save."  

In the dying seconds of the second period, the 35-year-old goalie stoned Panthers 51-goal scorer Sam Reinhart from the slot to keep the Islanders up a goal heading into the third period. 

The final frame would be Varlamov's toughest challenge of the night, but he rose to the occasion, stopping all 14 shots that came his way.

Varlamov's best save of the night came while the Panthers power play after a phantom Bo Horvat slash at 9:17 of the third. 

After some strong passing, Reinhart got a glorious opportunity in the low slot to tap one home, but Varlamov kicked out the right flipper to save the day.

"That's what we need to do as a goalie," Varlamov said. "Our goal is in the key moments, try to come up with a big save. I'm glad I made the save, and that's what we need to do."

Most of the third period was hectic, but Varlamov's been in those moments before plenty of times throughout his career and had the battle mentality needed to be effective. 

"The mind is the same. Just continue to battle no matter what," Varlamov said. "I thought we played smarter on the penalty killing. "Guys blocked big shots. And then the mindset was just not to give up the goal. We didn't want them to tie the game, and then they didn't."

Varlamov hasn't played much hockey this season, with 22 appearances, but he came into his latest start 2-0-1 over his last three outings, beating the Winnipeg Jets 6-3 after stopping 32 of 35 shots. 

It felt amazing for him to come in and help be a part of a winning result, which, at this stage of the season, the Islanders had to have.

'"It's amazing to win, especially here in Florida, against one of the best offensive teams in the NHL," Varlamov said. "Great feeling. A pretty good start and a great finish. Guys were battling really, really hard today." 

The question was, would Roy go back to Varlamov against the Lightning on Saturday?

"He looks really sharp. I looked at him today in practice, and he looks really sharp. So yeah, he will play tomorrow," Roy said on Friday. 

Roy thinks the break will help him get back to his game. 

"They both really work well together, Varlamov and Ilya," Roy said. "I think, sometimes, it's good to have a bit of a break and get your confidence back in practice. I tell you, Ilya had a really good practice today. So I am confident that when he's back in net, he will play a good game,

"Varly played really well. And I think he deserves the start tomorrow. Absolutely."

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