Ilya Sorokin
Sorokin is the Islanders' clear number one goalie for the rest of this 84-game season, with Semyon Varlamov taking a minority of starts.
Role
Sorokin starts most games. Hockey-Reference (checked 2 November) shows 10 starts in the team's first 10 or so games, and Puckfeed had Varlamov at 3 starts (0-1-2) against Sorokin's 8 in its last update. Daily Faceoff's starting-goalie page (dated 31 October) confirmed Sorokin for the Edmonton game that day. A beat-writer lines roundup (Newsday's Andrew Gross, 29 October) lists Sorokin with Varlamov as the backup. The Daily Faceoff goalie depth chart was not fetched, so I am not reporting what it says today. The ranking of tandems on Daily Faceoff also names Vitek Vanecek as a third goalie in the group. Whether he is on the roster now is unconfirmed. The Islanders are using Varlamov, 38, as the backup after double knee replacements. No exact split beyond roughly 7 of 10 recent starts is published.
He is a top-tier goalie on a team built around defense. A Sports Illustrated panel ranked him third in the league, and most panelists put him in the top tier. Daily Faceoff notes he has more shutouts than any other goalie over five years and a top-eight Vezina finish five years running. The same coverage says the Islanders' defense has improved this season, which helps his workload and results.
His recent results have slipped. Hockey-Reference's last-five log shows a 0-4 loss to Edmonton on 31 October and a 6-goal game in Dallas on 25 October (.842). The Islanders are a fringe playoff team, so team results may not back up his numbers. His 2025-26 save percentage was .906 and his record 29-24-2, which is solid but not elite. Varlamov's early numbers have been good, which could cost Sorokin starts.
Where analysts split
Broad agreement that Sorokin is the starter. The only open question is how many starts Varlamov takes. Some coverage praises Varlamov's early play, but no analyst has argued for a true split.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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