LAS VEGAS — The Islanders needed a win on Saturday in the worst way. 

And of the three people that most helped them get it, not one was a name you would’ve expected to be in the lineup for a game of such importance. Semyon Varlamov, Hudson Fasching and Simon Holmstrom were the heroes the Islanders found, and that turned out to be every bit good enough for a 5-2 victory over the Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena. 

After falling to pieces on Friday night in Arizona, their sixth loss in eight games, the Islanders briefly fell below the playoff cutline when the Capitals’ win over Toronto went final on Saturday before their game in Vegas started. By the end of the night, though, the Islanders had regained their place in the standings. 

“I think it was 24 hours of a lot of reflection from last night,” Zach Parise said. “We were pretty determined to have a better effort and play for a better outcome.” 

Varlamov stopped 35 of 37 shots, standing tall when the Islanders were seemingly hemmed into their own zone every other shift, managing the puck poorly and failing to match Vegas’ energy. It was starting to look as though Varlamov was making the case to start on Monday in Colorado, until he suddenly left the game injured with 6:22 to go in the third period. 

The Golden Knights only forced Sorokin to stop one shot, though, and Brock Nelson and Parise put the game away with empty-net goals. 

As for the other unlikely heroes, Fasching, who drew back into the lineup thanks to Cal Clutterbuck’s upper-body injury, completed a stunning drive to the crease, bodying a defender off the puck and finishing the chance with a goal to put the Islanders up 2-1 at 4:30 of the first. 

Then Holmstrom, in the lineup after Nick Ritchie’s hit up high late in Friday’s game rendered Kyle Palmieri out, went and scored his first-ever NHL goal on a slot shot at 17:36 to go in the second to put the Islanders up 3-1. 

“I’m happy for both of them,” coach Lane Lambert said. “Power move to the net [by Fasching] and first NHL goal [for Holmstrom]. I’m glad we won the game. It’s icing on the cake for them.” 

Of course, it wasn’t as easy as that. Reilly Smith’s second power-play goal of the night pulled Vegas within a goal at 3:30 of the third and the Islanders spent the rest of the game leaning on both of their goaltenders to fend off the potential tying goal. 

“I think we’re a resilient group and we respond generally,” Matt Martin told The Post. “We did that tonight. I would say last night was disappointing, we wore that one all last night and today kinda felt it. And we wanted to respond the right way.” 

The Islanders needed heroes, and it wasn’t Sorokin, Mathew Barzal or Anders Lee who came up big this time, although it must be said that Lee played a strong all-around game, and got them on the board with a one-timer at 18:58 of the first. Nope, this was a night where Fasching looked like a marquee addition in free agency and Holmstrom, 11 games into his NHL career, finally broke through. 

And, most important, it was a night where keeping Varlamov to be Sorokin’s backup at a $5 million annual price tag looked nothing but prescient. It’s the fifth straight game Varlamov has gotten the Islanders points in, as Sorokin has dropped five in a row. Combined with a potential injury to Varlamov, it throws the Islanders’ goaltending situation all into flux headed into Monday’s game in Colorado. 

“I thought he was great,” Lambert said of Varlamov, simply and correctly. He did not, though, have an update on the injury. 

The Islanders were outshot 38-26, and there was plenty to nitpick in their game. But they played with composure when needed, resiliency when asked and pulled out a tough, necessary two points. 

“This is a good hockey team, they’re gonna get their chances, but I thought we did a good job of ending plays and getting out of our zone,” Parise said. “Even if it was a chip in the neutral zone, we weren’t turning it over in our own zone and giving them that second, third chance. Just a little bit better structurally, it felt like.” 

And with just the right heroes.