New York Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield (24) and goaltender Semyon Varlamov (40) celebrate after defeating the Colorado Avalanche at an NHL hockey game on Saturday, October 29, 2022 in Elmont, NY (AP Photo/Eduardo Muoz Alvarez)
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The New York Rangers have been looking for answers during their recent slide and Tuesday night hasn’t been any easier.
New York’s inability to end up with excellent scoring opportunities against good goaltenders will be put to the test against their arch-nemesis and a goalkeeper they haven’t been able to solve.
Semyon Varlamov has been in the league for 15 years, the last four of which came with the New York Islanders. During that time, Varlamov has been very influential. Sporting a 50-44-12 record with a .918% saving percentage, Varlamov has helped the Islanders reach the conference finals in two of the last three seasons.
Part of their dominance comes not only in the playoffs, but against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
Rangers are on a five-game scoreless streak against Varlamov at MSG, with the former All-Star averaged overs 26.8 saves per game,
In contrast, Blueshirts goalkeeper Igor Shesterkin has a record of just 1-6-1 against the Islanders and 0-5 at home. While the fight to score goals will be a pivotal point in Tuesday night’s fight, it also highlights the main issues Rangers have gone through at the offensive end.
While the team has four players in the top 10 to score across the league, New York has only the third lowest goalscorer in the entire Metro division. The Islanders are ranked as the top scoring offense in their division.
Rangers may be concerned about his past work, or about his lack of action against Semyon Varlamov. His offense has been a big issue in a very important regular season game against the rival Islanders.
In October 3-0 loss At the UBS Arena, Rangers fired more than 40 shots against Ilya Sorokin. It didn’t matter though as Sorokin showed why he is one of the best in the NHL so far. It won’t be easy in front of a home crowd against a player who has owned Rangers over the years.
