It’s safe to assume that the Islanders’ plan was to eventually transition Semyon Varlamov from the starting goalie to the backup. But the transition probably came sooner than anyone on the team probably wanted.

Varlamov is still searching for his first win of the season. He’s 0-5-1 with a 3.29 goals against average and a .884 save percentage, a steep and dramatic decline from a 2.04 GAA and .929 save percentage last season.

But Ilya Sorokin has taken a massive leap in his development. He’s 7-6-4 with a 2.48 GAA, .925 save percentage and three shutouts.

I’d argue that Varlamov suffered from the Islanders’ overall underachievement these past few weeks. However, he only registered a save percentage above .900 twice this season. Once against Minnesota in his first start (.919) and against the Blackhawks in a 3-2 overtime loss on Dec. 5 (.923). He allowed a lot of soft goals this season, especially while the team in front of him was struggling.

Sorokin, on the other hand, played three quality games during the Isles’ 11-game losing streak. He had a .925 save percentage against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 21, then stopped 29 out of 30 shots against the Penguins on the 26th and made 33 saves in an overtime loss to the Sharks on Dec. 1. He’s clearly the team’s starting goalie.

Head coach Barry Trotz essentially confirmed that on Monday. He told reporters before the team’s flight to Detroit that he was still a “part of us,” but that he might split his goalies “3 and 1” as opposed to the current “2 and 2” game rotation, as he referred to it.

In the short term, that means that as long as Sorokin keeps up his solid play, he’s going to keep getting starts. He’ll likely play Tuesday night in Detroit and perhaps on Thursday against the Boston Bruins after a strong outing Saturday against the Devils. But I would expect Trotz to split the goalies for next week’s back-to-back set against the Vegas Golden Knights and Montreal Canadiens.

The long term is slightly cloudier. Having two great goalies is necessary for playoff teams, but the Isles’ playoff status is in serious doubt this season. There’s plenty of time to turn things around, but if they don’t, Varlamov can expect to be on the trading block by the trade deadline. He has one more season at a $5 million cap hit and can be a serviceable 1B on a contending team.

The Islanders will be patient with their veteran Russian netminder. He’s performed way below his career averages, and the Islanders should expect him to bounce back eventually. Maybe he’s not the starting goalie anymore, but he certainly has a place on this team and is a valuable part of it.

Ben Baruch

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