Varlamov likely out; Isles call up Appleby

TEMPE, Ariz. — The Islanders are right back to holding their collective breath about goaltending.

The Isles emergency-recalled Ken Appleby from AHL Bridgeport on Wednesday, a sign that Semyon Varlamov will not be available Thursday against the Coyotes after he left Tuesday’s 5-4 loss to the Avalanche with an apparent injury 14:52 into the game.

Varlamov had already missed last Friday’s victory over the Capitals, but the situation appeared behind the Islanders, so much so that coach Lane Lambert was asked Tuesday morning how happy he was to have escaped unscathed.

“Clearly it’s very fortunate,” he said. “[Varlamov’s] a big part of our goaltending tandem. With the way the game is played, the amount of travel and everything that’s going on certainly here this month and even last month, having fresh goalies is key.”

That may be a luxury the Islanders have to go without for as long as Varlamov is on the shelf. Appleby has just three games of NHL experience and those came all the way back in the 2017-18 season for the Devils.

The Islanders did not practice Wednesday and issued no update on Varlamov’s injury. Lambert said after the game Tuesday he knew “nothing” about the nature of the issue.

The Islanders have been reticent to play the organization’s third-string goalie when Varlamov has dealt with injury in the past, giving Cory Schneider a lone start on the second end of a back-to-back in April 2021 after they were already out of the playoff race. Otherwise, they have ridden Ilya Sorokin in those situations.

It stands to reason they will do the same again this time, even as they have tried this season to avoid putting Sorokin through the same 62-game wringer he faced a year ago.

And, of course, if last year’s Vezina Trophy runner-up gets hurt, that would be nothing short of calamitous.

➤ The Islanders placed Robert Bortuzzo on injured reserve, citing a lower-body injury after he left the ice Tuesday without putting weight on his right leg following a hit into the wall from Colorado’s Samuel Girard.

Bortuzzo will miss a minimum of seven days before being eligible to return next Tuesday at home against Vancouver.