Islanders' Semyon Varlamov has taken his backup goalie role in stride

 Semyon Varlamov, off back-to-back shutouts, earned another start on Tuesday night, another chance to remind anyone who’s forgotten why he was a No. 1 goalie in the NHL for so long.

 He returned to the Islanders on a four-year, $11 million deal fully accepting of his role as the backup to fellow Russian Ilya Sorokin. But Varlamov has made the career transition seamlessly over the past couple of seasons after backstopping the Islanders to back-to-back berths in the NHL semifinals in 2020 and 2021.

 “I think the testament to that is you don’t even notice it,” captain Anders Lee said. “You don’t notice that there’s been an adjustment for him at all.”

 Varlamov was in net for his fourth start in 11 games as the Islanders faced the Wild at UBS Arena, marking his first home appearance of the season.

 He posted shutouts in his two previous starts, a 32-save gem in Thursday’s 3-0 win in Washington and a 34-save outing in a 2-0 victory in Columbus on Oct. 28. Varlamov’s shutout streak of 137:20 entering Tuesday’s match was the NHL’s longest of the young season.

 Tuesday also marked the sixth straight game Lane Lambert has alternated Sorokin and Varlamov, a pattern the coach seems willing to continue if both goalies continue to play well.

 “They’re both playing well so we’ll see how that goes as we go forward,” Lambert said. “But, certainly, that’s a possibility.”

  Entering Tuesday, Varlamov was 2-1-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .972 save percentage while Sorokin was 3-1-3 with a 3.12 GAA and a .911 save percentage.

 “His play has been outstanding,” Lambert said when specifically asked about Varlamov. 

     As for designating a specific amount of games for each goalie, Lambert said  that wasn't an issue to start the season..

“As you go along, it’s a day-to-day thing." said Lambert.   "You come in with a little bit of plan.”

 Still, signing Sorokin to an eight-year, $66 million extension that doesn’t start until next season signaled the Islanders commitment to him as their No. 1.

 “[Varlamov] re-signed here knowing his role was going to be a little different,” Matt Martin said. “Just like he was when he was a starter, he comes in every day and works hard. He’s ultra-professional about it and he’s played unbelievable for us when he has gone in.”

 Both Varlamov and Sorokin — the latter certainly the victim of some leaky play and poor puck management in front of him in suffering overtime losses in his last two starts despite having the lead in the third period — have been kept busy. The Islanders entered Tuesday allowing an average of 35.6 shots on net per game, the second most in the NHL.

 “We’ve talked about some games that maybe we should have had an extra point,” Mathew Barzal said. “But there’s probably a couple of games where we got an extra point because of [the goalies]. So to cut down the shots is more of an internal thing within our group and coaching staff, just trying to find ways to maybe not allow as many point shots.”

 Lambert pinpointed clearing the puck out of the defensive zone in order to play up ice as the simplest way to cut down on the shots against. But,in the defensive zone, the Islanders need to neutralize threats more consistently by taking away shooting lanes, playing the puck more efficiently along the wall and physically hindering the opponents.

 “It’s definitely something that we’ve addressed,” defenseman Adam Pelech said. “We’d like to cut down on the amount of shots that we’ve given up. [The goalies] have bailed us out for sure. We can’t just rely on that every night.”

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.