SUNRISE, Fla. — A year ago this time, the Islanders got into the playoffs mostly because Ilya Sorokin could keep them in games night after night. Sorokin hasn’t been able to do that in the same way this season. But Semyon Varlamov certainly did on Thursday night in South
Florida, when the Islanders came away 3-2 winners over the Panthers in a match where they were pretty well outplayed by last year’s Eastern Conference champions. The 27-save performance from Varlamov not only gave the Islanders a must-have two points to stay relevant in the playoff chase, but brought into further focus something that has been brewing for a few weeks now. The case for riding Varlamov — and not Sorokin — down the stretch is growing stronger with every game. Varlamov, having started just his 21st game of the season Thursday, is much fresher than Sorokin, who has started 117 games since last October, postseason included. And at least at the moment, he is playing better than the netminder who has lost his last six starts with an .881 save percentage over the duration. Thursday was the exact sort of game the Islanders have needed from one of their goalies all season — stealing one in a game against superior opposition. The Panthers looked good all night at five-on-five, owning the possession battle and forcing the Islanders to play defend-and-counterattack hockey. For long stretches, especially early in the night, this looked every bit like one team in the President’s Trophy fight and another in the wild-card fight. But instead of succumbing, the Islanders took every punch and answered with one of their own.