TEMPE, Ariz. — A word here in defense of the Islanders, who have been catching criticism due to their lack of organizational goaltending depth in the wake of Semyon Varlamov’s injury Tuesday night in Colorado.

The situation in which the Isles now find themselves, with a proverbial Sword of Damocles hanging over the franchise if Ilya Sorokin gets hurt over what will be an extended period of playing time if Varlamov does not return soon, is far from ideal.

It is also not avoidable by having a slightly better third option than Ken Appleby waiting in the American League.

This is clear because the Islanders did have a slightly better third option in AHL Bridgeport each of the last two seasons. Each of those seasons included a stint when Varlamov was out. And the Islanders used Cory Schneider in a total of one NHL game — the second end of a back-to-back after they were completely out of the race in April 2022.