New York Islanders: Who gets the nod in net for play-in series?

Who should get the nod as the starting goaltender when the New York Islanders face the Florida Panthers?

News broke a few days ago that the New York Islanders will be unable to use their top goalie prospect Ilya Sorokin this postseason if and when he signs. And while Sorokin may not have been given the nod regardless, head coach Barry Trotz must decide on which of his two netminders he will go with in a best-of-five series against the Florida Panthers.

And this decision is not as easy as many may think. Despite posting a 14-7-1 record with a 2.43 goals-against average (GAA) and a .925% save percentage prior to the All-Star Break, Thomas Greiss had a second half to forget.

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In seven post-All-Star break starts, the German netminder owned a 2-2-3 record with an abysmal 3.90 GAA and a save percentage of .861%.

So how is it that one could even consider starting him in a postseason series, let alone have confidence in him as a backup?

Well, I am glad you asked. Islanders fans all remember the magic that occurred in the early summer of 2016, where “he who shall not be named” sent the Islanders to the second round for the first time since 1993.

But who was in net for that series and the rest of those playoffs? You betcha, Thomas Greiss.

Without this stop by Greiss, who knows what would have become of this series. In this franchise-altering series, or at least that was the overall gist back then, Greiss was magnificent playing to a .943 save percentage, allowing just 2.16 goals against, as the Islanders took the series in six games.

To add to his strong stats against Florida, this season Greiss is 2-0 against the team from the sunshine state, allowing 1.00 goals per game with a superb .972% save percentage. And to look back throughout his regular-season career, he has started eight games against Florida, winning five, with a staggering .930 save percentage and a 2.10 GAA.

Moral of the story, Greiss cannot be overlooked to start this series. Now let us get to the better of the two netminders this season, in first-year Islander Semyon Varlamov.

The 32-year old goaltender put together a nice bounce-back season, posting a 2.62 GAA and a .914% save percentage, which resulted in a 19-14-6 record.

He was no Robin Lehner, but the Russian native did his job in giving the Islanders a chance to make it to this play-in stage, especially carrying the load when Greiss struggled mightily.

Now for Varlamov, a playoff start against the Panthers would be his first playoff appearance since 2014. And since then, his career has really taken a toll due to injury and his inability to rebound from it.

Varlamov, just like Greiss, has performed quite well against the Panthers throughout his career. In 12 starts over his 12-year NHL career, Varly is 8-3-1 with a .922% save percentage and a 2.65 GAA. On Oct. 12, Varlamov carried the Islanders to a 3-2 shootout victory, stopping  45 of 47 (.946% SV%).

As much as our Islander franchise forces us to reminiscence about the glory days (me through my dad), events that happened previously do not dictate the success of what is to come in the future.

In my humble opinion, Semyon Varlamov gets the nod to start the series.

The main factor for me was if Greiss could get back to the basics of last season, a Jennings winning season. But with the delay in play and no NHL action for quite some time, how does one break out of a slump

As a goaltender myself, we want repetition. We want constant shots to get a feel for the game. And the only way we can truly hone our craft is by playing in competitive games.

And if the regular season continued, I would be more confident in Greiss because good goaltenders find a way to turn things around, especially a goalie who pays close attention to positioning and minor details.

But the end of the regular season was canceled, which erased that opportunity from coming to fruition. Whoever looks game ready during a short training camp may be the guy that Trotz decides to run with. But my bet’s on Varlamov.