A desperate push for wins to save a team’s flagging playoff chances might entice a coach to rely heavily on a hot goalie.
Barry Trotz certainly has one putting together consistently strong performances in Ilya Sorokin. But December’s condensed schedule effectively forces the Islanders coach into more of a goalie rotation after leaning on his No. 1 netminder-in-the-making through the first quarter of the season.
Not that Semyon Varlamov, Sunday night’s starter against Chicago at UBS Arena as the Islanders looked to snap an 0-8-2 skid, is a bad option. After all, the elder of the two Russian goalies was the primary backstop in the Islanders’ back-to-back berths in the NHL semifinals.