Semyon Varlamov made his first start of the season in Minnesota Sunday night, but the Islanders dropped the game 5-2.

Varlamov was in the net for three of those goals. He made 34 saves on 37 shots before the Wild scored twice on an empty net.

Compared to how his counterpart — Ilya Sorokin — had been playing heading into Sunday night, it was a disappointing performance for the veteran goalie. Still, the loss was hardly Varlamov’s fault.

A hockey team won’t win too many games when they register about 20 shots a night and allow almost 40. The Wild outplayed the Islanders for most of the game, especially in the third period. At one point, third period shots were 15-2 in favor of the Wild. The Wild were the faster team, the crisper team and the more dominant team. That’s why they won.

Was Varlamov perfect, though? Absolutely not. The Wild’s third goal — an end-to-end rush from rookie forward Brandon Duhaime — beat Varlamov under his glove. Defenseman Ryan Pulock had good gap control, especially in the moments leading up to the shot. Sure, Varlamov was partially screened, but he wasn’t able to seal up the space between his left pad and glove. That’s one he’d probably want back, as it proved to be the eventual game-winner.

Varlamov kept his team in the game. He made about five terrific saves during a crucial penalty kill late in the third period, giving his team a chance to tie the game. He made some more important saves in the first and second periods to preserve the Isles’ lead.

“Varly was Varly,” forward Matt Martin told reporters after the game. “I didn’t think he looked rusty at all. He made some key stops early when they had their push and then some key stops in the third when they had their push. They were just able to find a loose puck on one and then score a pretty nice goal coming down the wing. He gave us a chance to win tonight. We’ve just got to find a way to do a better job in front of him.”

Indeed, it seemed like the Islanders got the bulk of their offensive production from the first line. Anders Lee had two goals and Mat Barzal had two assists. The latter was all over the ice Sunday, skating circles around the Wild zone multiple times and generating offense for his teammates. The other three lines were hardly as good.

What’s clear is that although Semyon Varlamov wasn’t bad in Minnesota, he’s going to have to work hard to get the starting job back. I’d be shocked if Sorokin doesn’t start Thursday night against the Devils considering how well he played in the Islanders’ first nine games of the season. Varlamov needs some more practice to get his game back to the elite level he displayed during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

When he does recapture that magic, the Islanders will have one of, if not the best, goaltending tandems in the entire NHL.

Ben Baruch

Born and raised on Long Island. Isles fan since 2009. Studying journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park.