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Islanders’ Semyon Varlamov off to strong start in preseason return after 662-day injury odyssey

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Crane, A. (2026, September 23). Islanders’ Semyon Varlamov off to strong start in preseason return after 662-day injury odyssey. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/09/22/sports/islanders-semyon-varlamov-off-to-strong-start-after-662-day-injury-odyssey/

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New York Post · collected 2026-09-23 · by Andrew Crane

Quick Summary

Semyon Varlamov of the New York Islanders returned to play in a preseason game against the Rangers after nearly two years and multiple knee surgeries. In his first appearance since November 29, 2024, Varlamov made seven saves and faced a challenging breakaway attempt by Alexis Lafrenière, showcasing promising form ahead of the season opener. The 38-year-old goaltender is aiming to secure his role as Sorokin's backup for the upcoming NHL campaign.
Written by AI on 2026-09-23, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Semyon Varlamov, a goaltender for the New York Islanders who underwent two partial knee replacements after his last game on November 29, 2021, made a successful return in a preseason match against the Rangers on Tuesday night. It had been 662 days since his last NHL appearance. During the game, he faced Alexis Lafrenière, who attempted a breakaway but was stopped by Varlamov's agility and quick reflexes despite facing only seven saves overall. Varlamov admitted that undergoing surgeries was risky but felt it was necessary to continue playing after a career that began in 2006 with the Capitals and included an eight-year stint with the Avalanche. This return game, which took place just over one week before the Islanders' season opener against the Maple Leafs, marks another positive step toward his comeback.

Written for “Nhl Goalie Return After Injury” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Nhl Goalie Return After Injury
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
22
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 22 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-23 · how these are computed

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Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15307 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Andrew Crane
64 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 For the second consecutive year, James Reimer turned a PTO into an NHL deal — and this one will help the Rangers’ goaltending puzzle.
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🔮 In the final year of his ESPN contract, and with reports swirling about tension with broadcast partner Joe Buck, Troy Aikman knows that he could be staring down change.
🔮 During Friday’s “First Take,” Dan Orlovsky said he thinks Manning — who could get benched soon after the Longhorns gave their backup more reps in practice — should skip declaring for the draft this year and spend another season elsewhere at the college level.
🔮 Mesa, who stole nine bases during the regular season and had added another two in the postseason, was thrown out while attempting to steal third during the fifth inning while trailing 2-1, with William Contreras catching Mesa after he left second base on an 0-2 pitch with leadoff hitter Yandy Díaz at the plate.
🔮 Dorofeyev admitted Wednesday that he needed to be better next time while also acknowledging that situations exist where it could make sense to stay on the ice longer.
🔮 But the Rangers also think he has “an offensive dimension to his game that might be untapped,” Sullivan said.
Also by Andrew Crane
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 64 articles by Andrew Crane →

Topics

Capitals Islanders NHL Rangers the Maple Leafs

Subjects

Varlamov PERSON · 9× Islanders ORG · 6× NHL ORG · 3× Sorokin PERSON · 3× Alexis Lafrenière PERSON · 1× Ilya Sorokin PERSON · 1× Kashawn Aitcheson PERSON · 1× Lafrenière PERSON · 1× Scott Mayfield PERSON · 1× Semyon Varlamov PERSON · 1×

Narrative

He admitted last week that his thought for the surgeries was “crazy,” a “very risky idea” and something that he knew he wanted to try because — despite a lengthy career that began with the Capitals as a first-round pick in 2006 and also included an eight-year run with the Avalanche — he didn’t want to stop playing.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-23
🔮 Lafrenière had split Kashawn Aitcheson and Scott Mayfield.

Claims (22 extracted, 1 hedged)

It took nearly two years and two partial knee replacements for Semyon Varlamov to get to this point. asserted
It → take → point
It took 662 days from his last NHL game — Nov. 29, 2024 — until Tuesday night, when he was staring down Alexis Lafrenière on a breakaway early in the third period. asserted
he → take → period
Lafrenière had split Kashawn Aitcheson and Scott Mayfield. asserted
Lafrenière → split → Aitcheson
He moved to his backhand and then went back to his forehand. asserted
He → move → forehand
But Varlamov followed him the whole way, turning aside his most difficult chance since taking over for Ilya Sorokin during the Islanders’ 4-3 preseason win over the Rangers on Tuesday at the Garden. asserted
Varlamov → follow → Garden
He didn’t face many chances after entering with 10:15 left in the second, only needing to make seven saves, but this marked another promising step for Varlamov just over one week before their season opener against the Maple Leafs. asserted
this → face → Leafs
By the time the second period dipped under 12 minutes, Varlamov had replaced his baseball hat with his goalie helmet on the Islanders’ bench. asserted
Varlamov → dip → bench
He’d checked his blocker, fixed his glove and then grabbed his stick as play continued, inching closer to the point when he’d finally enter. asserted
he → check → point
Then he skated onto the ice, tapped gloves with Sorokin as they crossed paths and returned to an NHL crease. asserted
they → skate → crease
Through his grueling recovery, Varlamov, 38, found a way to keep his vision for inching back to the Islanders intact. asserted
Varlamov → find → Islanders
He still has plenty of boxes left to check before his role is solidified. asserted
role → have → boxes
There’s a massive gap between splitting a preseason game and making 25 to 30 starts as the primary backup to Sorokin — or a slightly modified number if the Islanders keep three goaltenders. asserted
Islanders → ’ → goaltenders
Logging a full preseason game later in the week will mark the next one. asserted
Logging → log → one
Varlamov also made a strong save on a tough shot from Sean Durzi with around 2:40 left in the second period. asserted
Varlamov → make → period
He admitted last week that his thought for the surgeries was “crazy,” a “very risky idea” and something that he knew he wanted to try because — despite a lengthy career that began with the Capitals as a first-round pick in 2006 and also included an eight-year run with the Avalanche — he didn’t want to stop playing. asserted
he → admit → Avalanche
When he got injured in 2024, Varlamov had gone 3-4-3 with an .889 save percentage to start the season. asserted
Varlamov → injure → season
But it took time for Varlamov’s vision for his recovery to take tangible steps. asserted
vision → take → steps
It required David Rittich backing up Sorokin last year, though Varlamov managed to log a pair of games with AHL Bridgeport at the end of last season while on a conditioning assignment. asserted
Varlamov → require → assignment
He allowed three goals, made 46 saves, picked up a pair of wins and, perhaps most importantly, demonstrated that his improbable return actually had a realistic chance of happening. asserted
return → allow → chance
The Islanders still braced for the worst in the offseason, inking Vitek Vanecek to a one-year deal worth $1 million in free agency. asserted
Islanders → brace → agency
They could keep three goaltenders on their roster, though DeBoer admitted that it “does handcuff you.” uncertain
it → keep → you
But by making his expected return to an NHL-level game, Varlamov demonstrated that he’s one step closer to stepping back into his Islanders role that — for the longest time — seemed like it was in jeopardy. asserted
it → make → jeopardy
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