ST. LOUIS — Having three goaltenders capable of playing in the NHL is not easy.
But Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello recognizes it as a need after his team was caught out when Semyon Varlamov got hurt earlier this season.
“It’s something that, it’s difficult, but we should have,” Lamoriello said before the Islanders’ 4-0 loss to the Blues on Thursday. “As you know, I am a goaltending person. I don’t think you can ever have enough goaltenders.
“You should have three [or] four — maybe one or two of ours haven’t developed the way they should. But that’s why we had Cory Schneider here also, when we brought him. He did a great job there. So you need three or four. But it is difficult today because of the waiver rule and so forth, if you have a good one, he has to clear waivers and then you get to the point that once players are down [in the AHL] it’s very difficult to acquire them. They’re the insurance for their own team.”
With the Islanders not confident in call-up Ken Appleby, Ilya Sorokin appeared in 15 straight games from Dec. 23-Jan. 23 after Varlamov went down in Colorado on Jan. 2. It appears to be an outside possibility that Sorokin will play in 60 or more games for the second straight season as a result.
Of the three goalies the Islanders currently have in AHL Bridgeport, only Henrik Tikkanen — who has played just 10 career AHL games — boasts a save percentage above .900.
Whether that problem can be solved in the two weeks before the trade deadline is an open question, since there is not an abundance of No. 3 goalies who figure to be available on the market. (The Islanders can at least count themselves lucky that, unlike other teams near them in the standings, they have two goalies they can count on in Sorokin and Varlamov).
If the opportunity arises to add one, though, Lamoriello would jump on it.
Casey Cizikas will be evaluated once the Islanders get back to New York after taking Erik Karlsson’s shot off his hand early in the third period of Tuesday’s win, Lamoriello said. Kyle MacLean replaced Cizikas in the lineup Tuesday.
Hudson Fasching (lower body) is likely to play a couple games in the AHL on a rehab assignment before the Islanders activate him, per Lamoriello.
Robert Bortuzzo (high ankle sprain) suffered a recent setback, with Lamoriello saying his timeline for returning is indefinite.