Islanders' Semyon Varlamov: Takes tough loss Wednesday

Varlamov stopped 24 of 25 shots in Wednesday's 2-0 loss to the Blue Jackets, with Columbus' last goal getting scored into an empty net.

He was locked in a scoreless tie with Elvis Merzlikins until early in the third period, when Damon Severson flipped a pass toward the front of the net that deflected past Varlamov off the skate of Ryan Pulock. The veteran netminder has had an up and down start to the season in a timeshare with Ilya Sorokin, and the Islanders' offensive struggles haven't helped -- Varlamov is 1-3-1 in five appearances with a 3.21 GAA and .876 save percentage.