Semyon Varlamov leaves early in Islanders' OT loss to Avalanche
Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov stops the puck during the first period of the team's NHL game against the Avalanche on Tuesday in Denver. Credit: AP/David Zalubowski
DENVER — The Islanders lost the lead in the third period, lost the game and may have lost goalie Semyon Varlamov and defenseman Robert Bortuzzo to injuries.
And coach Lane Lambert may lose some money for criticizing at least one of the penalties called against his team in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Avalanche on Tuesday night at Ball Arena.
Nathan MacKinnon’s power-play goal 32 seconds into the extra period was the winner after defenseman Scott Mayfield was called for holding Valeri Nichushkin at 19:38 of the third period. Nichushkin’s power-play goal at 12:21 of the third period tied it at 4-4 after defenseman Mike Reilly was called for interference in the neutral zone against Andrew Cogliano, negating the end of the Islanders’ final man advantage.
“Which one?” Lambert said when asked what he thought of the “late-game penalty.” “I thought Mike Reilly’s call was terrible. What more can you say? They called them and that’s the way it goes.”
The Islanders (17-10-10) have dropped the first two games of their four-game swing, which continues Thursday against the Coyotes.
Whether Varlamov or Bortuzzo will be available is an open question. Lambert said there was no update on either.
Alexandar Georgiev made 18 saves for the Western Conference-leading Avalanche (24-11-3), who are 16-4-0 at home.
Varlamov exited after stopping 11 of 12 shots in 14:52. Lambert said he did not know whether it was related to the maintenance issue that kept Varlamov out of Thursday’s practice and then from dressing for the Islanders’ 5-1 win over the Capitals at UBS Arena on Friday.
“A goalie should always be ready, so I was ready,” said Ilya Sorokin, who stopped 23 of the 27 shots he faced. “It’s a hard game.”
Any long-term absence by Varlamov will expose the lack of organizational goaltending depth without an NHL-ready netminder available in the minors. Career minor-leaguer Ken Appleby, 28, backed up Sorokin on Friday.
Bortuzzo left unable to put weight on his right leg after a hard check into the side wall by defenseman Samuel Girard at 15:41 of the second period. The Islanders do have Sebastian Aho, a healthy scratch on Tuesday, available. Plus, Adam Pelech (long-term injured reserve, upper body) is on the trip, skating with the team and eligible to be activated.
The Islanders did block 31 shots, including six by defenseman Alexander Romanov and four each by rookie defenseman Samuel Bolduc and center Jean-Gabriel Pageau.
So while Lambert was pleased with his team’s effort, he was not happy with how they played the puck or with their physical response to the speedy Avalanche forecheck.
The Islanders spent stretches hemmed in their defensive zone, which fueled the Avalanche’s comeback from a 3-1 deficit in the second period.
“We have to understand as a group about managing the puck better,” Lambert said. “We put ourselves into some situations that we can’t continue to put ourselves in. They’re fast. They came in hard. I didn’t think we did a good enough job of getting skin for our defensemen and holding people up.”
Brock Nelson’s power-play goal gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead at 19:28 of the first period and Simon Holmstrom pushed it to 3-1 at 1:09 of the second period. Nichushkin’s first goal cut it to 3-2 at 4:18 of the second period and Jonathan Drouin tied it at 8:24 of the second period.
Romanov’s slapper from the left point made it 4-3 at 10:18 of the second period.
“Every point is a hard-earned point,” defenseman Noah Dobson said. “It’s not an easy building to come into. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t get that extra point.”
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.
