Last year’s No. 1 Varlamov falling well behind Sorokin

Since returning from injury in early November, it’s evident that Semyon Varlamov hasn’t been quite the same.

Now seven games into his season, the Isles’ former No. 1 goaltender has been a clear second to Ilya Sorokin — the difference between the two stark enough that coach Barry Trotz may not be able to simply alternate games between them.

“We’re not trying to do anybody any favors right now,” Trotz said following practice on Monday.

He’s right — the Islanders are in no position to go away from what works. At 7-11-5 and just now starting to win games after a disastrous month, the Islanders will need a serious run of winning to make it back to the postseason.

Though Varlamov, Trotz said, is still trying to catch up after missing training camp and the season’s first three weeks, the Islanders can’t afford to lose games as they wait for him to look like his old self. His .884 save percentage is down over 4 percent from last year’s .929, and his goals above average is up to 3.29 from 2.04 in 2020-21.

Contrast that with Sorokin, whose .925 save percentage has kept the Islanders in some games they may not have deserved to be in. The 26-year-old also made 30 saves in each of the Isles’ two wins headed into Tuesday’s matchup against the Red Wings.

“Ilya’s one of those guys that can give you that save that can get you the momentum back and turn things,” Trotz said following Saturday’s win over the Devils. “And I thought he did.”

On Monday, asked whether Varlamov’s struggles would affect the rotation of games between the two, Trotz was noncommittal.

“To me, it’s really important that Varly’s a big part of us,” Trotz said. “I’ve gotta give him enough games so he can get in a rotation, so he’s feeling good about his game. Get some wins from him.

“Also trying to balance, if Sorokie’s hotter than him, do you play Sorokie three [games] to one versus maybe two each in a four-game stretch? That’s sort of the balance.”

➤ Following the Devils game lon Saturday, Trotz said he thought there was a scoring error regarding Oliver Wahlstrom’s time on ice, which was listed as under 10 minutes. “If that’s totally accurate, that’s probably on me,” Trotz said, noting how well Wahlstrom had played in a two-assist performance. It turned out, he was right. “I knew I played him more,” Trotz said. “He had 11 ½ minutes the other night.”

Trotz highlighted the uptick in Wahlstrom’s awareness for his increase in assists.

“He was trying to score so much that he’d bury that head and try to go end to end,” Trotz said. “Now you look at him, he’s probably got three or four assists in the last couple games. And he had gone almost 16, 17, 18 games without an assist cause he was burying his head and not using all his tools. And I think he’s starting to use all of his tools a little bit more.”

➤ Trotz still hasn’t made a decision on whether Anthony Beauvillier will be a healthy scratch for a second straight game in Detroit on Tuesday. He said he plans to talk to Beauvillier while the team is traveling.

“We talked about what he needed to do, so that was between me and him,” Trotz said. “It will remain between me and him.”