Islanders’ Semyon Varlamov to make first NHL start since 2024

It’s been a long time coming for Semyon Varlamov’s return to the NHL. As the New York Islanders get set to take on their intra-city rivals in the New York Rangers on Tuesday, head coach Pete DeBoer announced at morning skate that Varlamov will start for them, his first NHL game in almost two years. Varlamov hasn’t played a professional game since November 24, 2024, as the netminder has missed the last 56 games of the 2024-25 season and all 82 of the 2025-26 season with a knee injury. He had undergone surgery for the injury in December 2024, and…