nypost
On Tuesday night, Semyon Varlamov stepped onto the Madison Square Garden ice as the starting goaltender for the New York Islanders, ending a 676-day absence from regular-season play. The last time he had started was on an afternoon in Washington, an overtime loss that few remember. What followed was a puzzling sequence: Varlamov backed up Ilya Sorokin the next day against Buffalo and sat on the bench in Montreal three days later for another overtime loss. Only after that did the Islanders hold him out with what was initially termed a lower-body injury. Nearly two years and two partial knee replacements later, the 38-year-old Varlamov led his team onto the ice, his first start since an injury that seemed certain to prevent him from ever doing so again.
"Everything feels great. Everything feels 100 percent," Varlamov said after the game, with two bulky knee pads nearby. "Nothing holds me back, which is great news." While he gave up three goals on 22 shots before the Rangers added two empty-netters in a 5-2 loss, his performance was almost beyond reproach given the circumstances. The Rangers did not register their first shot until 6:40 into the game—an Oliver Bjorkstrand slapper that Varlamov admitted surprised him and that found the net. Their next shot came at 12:12, a save on Mika Zibanejad.
"When you haven't played a game for a while, of course, so many thoughts going through your head," Varlamov said. "How are you gonna perform tonight, what's gonna happen and just a thousand thousand thoughts going through your head during the day and before the game." That mental noise is expected to fade as the novelty of his return gives way to the rhythm of the season. What remains extraordinary is that Varlamov is playing professional hockey at all. The Post has been unable to find another athlete in any of the four major U.S. professional sports who returned from two partial knee replacements.
Key Analysis
The procedure typically involves replacing only the damaged portion of the knee while leaving the rest intact. Dustin Pedroia, the former MVP second baseman for the Red Sox, underwent a series of surgeries after a severe knee injury in 2017 before having his knee partially replaced in 2020. Pedroia said at the time that the surgery meant he would never play again, citing fear that the knee could break and severely impact the rest of his life. When reached on Tuesday, Pedroia said in a text that he would be rooting for Varlamov. "Semyon will be fine!" Pedroia told The Post. "With the partial replacement, the big concern is pounding from impact like jogging or running. Skating is actually good for the joints cause it builds quad muscles and legs fire to keep pressure off the joint! And him being a goaltender shouldn't be an issue at all! This is cool to see, I will be pulling for him!!!"
Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche said last week that the club does not anticipate needing to monitor Varlamov specially. The team's doctors, he said, were stunned after annual physicals this year. "They're like, 'I don't know what to tell you. This is extremely impressive,'" Darche recalled. With no apparent reason to slow down, the Islanders proceeded with Varlamov as their backup goaltender. He appeared in 1 preseason game, and head coach DeBoer has said the plan is for him to start at least 30 games behind Ilya Sorokin. The first one was particularly special. "As his teammate, his friend, it's just so awesome to see," said Kyle Palmieri, who spent last season rehabbing a torn ACL alongside Varlamov. "I had a front row seat to watch him come in and prepare his body and just, day in and day out, I think he just found a way to enjoy that process. Take it day by day and here he is. It's so cool to be a part of it, and as a group and as a room, we're thrilled to have him back."
Originally reported by nypost.