Stefen Rosner On State Of Islanders New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/] head coach Patrick Roy was recognized as the Colorado Avalanche's best goaltender for the first 25 years of the 21st century. His starting netminder with Colorado and his current injured backup on the island, Semyon Varlamov, was voted as the second-best goaltender of the quarter-century for the Avalanche: Roy won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2001 as the most valuable player of the 2001 Playoffs en route to a Stanley Cup victory with the Avs. He also led the Avalanche to Game 7 of the 2002 Western Conference, where they fell to the Detroit Red Wings. In 223 regular season games, he went 126-59-34 with a 2.02 GAA and a .922 SV%. He made three consecutive All-Star games (2001-2003) and earned an NHL First-Team nomination in 2002. He also won the William M. Jennings Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to a team(s) goaltender (s) with the fewest goals scored against during the regular season. Roy's No. 33 was retired by the Avalanche on Oct. 28, 2003 Varlamov played in 389 regular season games with the Avalanche from 2011-2019. He went 183-156-38 with a .915 SV% and 2.72 GAA. He was named to the NHL's All-Star Second Team in 2014 after going 41-14-6 with a 2.41 GAA and a .927 SV%. Varlamov manned the Avs' net under Roy while he was head coach from the 2013-14 season through the 2015-16 season. Now, the two Avalanche legends have made their way to Long Island. Varlamov has been with the team since 2019 and has a 76-63-21 record with a 2.57 GAA and a .916 SV%. He led the Islanders to an Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 2021. Roy was named head coach of the Islanders on Jan. 20, 2024. In 82 games on the Isles bench, he has gone 38-32-12. The Islanders made the 2024 Playoffs under Roy and lost in five games to the Carolina Hurricanes in Round 1. Varlamov hasn't played since Nov. 29 due to a lower-body injury.
