Varlamov season debut with Islanders spoiled in loss to Wild

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Semyon Varlamov lost his season debut with the New York Islanders, 5-2 to the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center on Sunday.

Varlamov made 34 saves in his first game since June 25, a 1-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Semifinals. He did not participate in training camp and started the season on injured reserve due to what Islanders coach Barry Trotz called "soreness."
"I thought 'Varly' was fine," Trotz said. "I thought on their first goal, a little bit of a handle, a little quicker decision, but that'll come with more game action. For the most part, I thought he was good. He only gave up three goals. There were two empty-nets that they scored.
"Not enough push in the third. They got it tied up, and they got energized by the crowd, came at us. We needed a little bit of a better push there."
Ryan Hartman and Brandon Duhaime scored 2:01 apart in the third period for the Wild (8-3-0), who have won three in a row. Kaapo Kahkonen made 19 saves.
"It was a tremendous hockey game," Minnesota coach Dean Evason said. "It was just a real good hockey game. It was heavy, it was hard. There was no cheap stuff, it was just straight up. There was some chances, but really good defensive play, goaltenders played really well. It was a fun game to be part of."

Anders Lee scored twice, and Mathew Barzal had two assists for the Islanders (5-3-2), whose seven-game point streak ended (5-0-2).
"I just thought they came into the third with a little more jump," New York defenseman Zdeno Chara said. "They were playing a little bit more on their toes. I think we were just kind of sitting on that lead and not playing the way we're capable of."
Hartman tied it 2-2 on a rebound from an angle at 7:17 of the third period, and Duhaime gave Minnesota a 3-2 lead at 9:18 with a shot from atop the circles.
Jonas Brodin (18:13) and Matt Dumba (19:11) each scored an empty-net goal for the 5-2 final.
Hartman, who leads the Wild with six goals, has scored five points (four goals, one assist) in his past five games.
"It's the first 11 games and there's still a lot of hockey," Hartman said. "Obviously, I'd like to continue to do this and I'm going to strive to do that, but we've got a lot of guys that can do it as well and we're getting scoring from up and down our lineup, so it's been good for us."
Lee gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 19:41 of the first period on a rebound of Chara's shot during a delayed penalty.
Varlamov saved all 14 shots he faced in the first.
"[Varlamov] was definitely up to the task," Barzal said. "It was nice to see him back, doing his thing in net. Obviously, he's a guy that everyone loves in the locker room and he works extremely hard off the ice, and it was great to see him back after I know he worked really hard during his rehab."
Nick Bjugstad tied it 1-1 on a redirection of Duhaime's shot at 9:59 of the second period.
Lee scored again at 12:04 when he finished a 2-on-1 with Barzal to give New York a 2-1 lead.

Minnesota outshot New York 16-2 in the third period.
"I think it was just a good game up until (the third)," Lee said. "I think they're a team that can create a lot of offense and transition really well, so they definitely came at us all night.
" … They were just able to execute on a couple of their chances in the third, and the next thing you know it's a lead and they go from there."
NOTES: Islanders forward Zach Parise returned to Minnesota for the first time since his contract was bought out by the Wild on July 13. He was minus-2 in 11:43 of ice time. … New York center Casey Cizikas played his 600th NHL game, and defenseman Ryan Pulock played his 300th. … Wild forwards Mats Zuccarello and Rem Pitlick returned from COVID-19 protocol. Zuccarello had three shots in 19:48, and Pitlick played 5:50. … Evason said forward Jordan Greenway, who has been out four games with a lower-body injury, is expected to practice Tuesday.