Although it’s only one and only one preseason match, it was a difficult Monday night for the Islanders at Madison Square Garden.
The Islanders were unable to keep their feet under them as Rangers skated around the arena in circles. Semyon Varlamov, the Rangers’ goaltender, gave up four goals on twenty shots before Jakub Skarek replaced him in the second period in a planned switch. This loss of 4-1 seemed to be a continuation of the Islanders’ worst year last year when they were simply too slow for other teams.
It was difficult to believe that there were only half of the roster made up of AHL players. It would have been great to see Lane Lambert’s second game as a bench coach. They struggled to control pucks and even break them out of their zone.
Lambert stated, “Haven’t played in a while pace was a lot faster, obviously.” “We didn’t expect anything perfect, that’s certain.”
Lambert said Varlamov’s poor puck luck was the reason for his rough night. Varlamov, a player for the Islanders, admitted that he was unhappy with his performance.
He said, “Physically, I felt good, but at times, it was a bit rusty.” “First game, what can i say, I gave up four goal. It’s not something I am happy with, but it is what it is. It isn’t perfect, but I can still play some better moments.