DENVER — Of course, Semyon Varlamov was not going to reveal much about what recently kept him from dressing for a game. The only relevant and important thing to Varlamov and to the Islanders is the goalie is healthy as the Islanders continued a four-game road trip against Varlamov’s previous team, the Avalanche, on Tuesday night at Ball Arena.
“I’m in the lineup because I’m really 100%,” Varlamov told Newsday before making his second start in Colorado since joining the Islanders in 2019 and first since Feb. 19, 2020. “Because if you’re not really 100%, you can’t be in the lineup, that’s the thing.”
Varlamov missed a practice for maintenance and then did not dress for the Islanders’ 5-1 win over the Capitals at UBS Arena on Friday. It exposed how thin the organization is in net without an NHL-ready goalie in the system in case of long-term injury to either Varlamov or Sorokin. Minor-league journeyman Ken Appleby backed up Sorokin against the Capitals.
Varlamov had subbed for Sorokin to start the third period of the Islanders’ previous game, a 7-0 loss to the visiting Penguins on Wednesday. But Varlamov said the issue that caused him to miss two days for maintenance did not occur in that outing, it had lingered from before.
“They’re both so good and they carry us through the whole season,” center Bo Horvat said of Sorokin and Varlamov. “For him to only miss one game is huge and not be too serious.”
Varlamov entered Tuesday’s match 6-4-2 with a 2.75 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage. He was 4-1-2 in his previous seven decisions.
“I’m just doing the same thing as I’ve been doing,” said Varlamov, 35, who spent eight seasons with the Avalanche and is in the first season of a four-year, $11 million extension after completing his initial four-year, $20 million deal with the Islanders. “Didn’t change anything.”
“The last couple of games, I didn’t really play. Ilya is playing most of the…
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