Varlamov stopped 30 of 31 shots in the Islanders' win over the Devils last Thursday. With Ilya Sorokin struggling again on Sunday, Varlamov is likely to start for the fourth time in six games on Tuesday. He's been the best goalie in the NHL through three starts, going 3-0-0 with a 0.33 GAA, .988 SV% and two shutouts.
Pavel Francouz is day-to-day with a minor injury so Miska has been called up to serve as Philipp Grubauer's backup in Los Angeles.
Varlamov stopped all 24 shots that he faced in the Islanders' shutout win over the Rangers on opening night. He was scheduled to start Saturday's rematch but was scratched after getting hit in the face in warmups. Luckily the injury was not serious and he'll be back between the pipes tonight vs. a Bruins offence that has been relatively quiet through their first two games.
Varlamov was scheduled to start Saturday but took a puck up high in warmups and ended up not playing. Head coach Barry Trotz said that both Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin are available to start on Monday but did not name a starter. We will get confirmation once warmups start at 4:30 PM ET.
Nick Robertson was hurt over the weekend and is expected to miss some time, so Engvall comes up from the AHL and should be in the lineup on Monday evening. The 24-year-old Engvall had eight goals and seven assists (15 points) in 48 games with the Maple Leafs last season.
Schneider will remain on the Islanders' active roster and serve as their No.3 netminder behind Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin. Last year he was 3-6-2 with a 3.53 GAA and .887 SV% in 13 games with the Devils.
DeAngelo had a tough game on Thursday and took undisciplined penalties so he will sit in the second game of the season but head coach David Quinn said “he’ll be back in the lineup soon.” Brendan Smith will replace DeAngelo on the Rangers’ blueline and Adam Fox will be on PP1.
In his first year with the Islanders, Varlamov went 19-14-6 with a 2.62 GAA, .914 SV% and two shutouts in 45 appearances (39 starts). In year-2, Varlamov will be pressured by rookie netminder Ilya Sorokin but he is still expected to start the majority of games as long as he's healthy and playing well. He was 0-2-1 with an ugly 4.64 GAA and .857 SV% in three games vs. the Rangers last year.
Barzal debuted in Islanders' camp on Saturday, fresh off of a three-year contract extension. The 23-year-old centre had 19 goals and 41 assists (60 points) in 68 games a season ago and has averaged 14 goals and 36 assists (50 points) per 56-games over the last three years. Given the depth at the position, Barzal is a strong No.2 fantasy centre now that he'll be there for the start of the 2021 season.
