ISLANDERS NOTES:
- Semyon Varlamov will start in goal in the season opener, per Head Coach Patrick Roy with Ilya Sorokin backing up. Varlamov went 14-8-4 last season with a 2.60 GAA, a .918 SV% and three shutouts, while also starting four of the five games in the Isles First Round playoff series against Carolina. Varlamov went 2-0-0 in preseason action, stopping 46-of-49 shots in parts of three exhibition games totalling 129:16 TOI.
Sorokin did not see any preseason action, as the Russian netminder missed the first two weeks of training camp as he rehabbed from an offseason injury. Sorokin was 25-19-12 last season with a 3.01 GAA and a .909 SV% with two shutouts.
- Anthony Duclair and Maxim Tsyplakov will make their official Islanders debuts on Thursday night. Duclair signed a four-year deal with the Islanders in the offseason and spent nearly all of training camp on a line - and power-play unit - with Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat. Duclair recorded five points (1G, 4A) in four preseason games. Duclair has 303 points in 563 games in his NHL career.
Tsyplakov is also making his official NHL debut after coming over the KHL and signing a one-year deal with the Islanders in the offseason. Tsyplakov recorded 31 goals in 65 games for Spartak Moskva last season and was a highly sought after as a free agent. Tsyplakov recorded three points (1G, 2A) in five preseason games and is expected to start on a line with Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri, as well as play on a power-play unit with Barzal, Noah Dobson, Duclair and Horvat.
- There were also some notable departures from the Islanders roster in the offseason in longtime wingers Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck, both of who are in the top-12 in games played with the franchise. Martin, 823 games with the Isles, seventh all-time, is currently on a PTO with the Islanders, while Clutterbuck, 718 games with New York, 12th, is a free agent. Defenseman Sebastian Aho signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins organization after spending seven seasons with the Isles organization.
- Mathew Barzal led the Islanders with nine points (4G, 5A) in four preseason games, including a five-point night in the preseason finale against the New York Rangers on Oct. 4. Barzal's nine points tied San Jose's Danil Gushchin for the NHL preseason lead.
