Varlamov turned aside 22 shots in Thursday's 4-3 loss to the Canadiens.

EDGE Analysis

Making his first appearance since Jan. 2 after recovering from a lower-body injury, Varlamov was under siege early and gave up two power-play goals in the first period as the Isles fell behind 3-0. The 35-year-old netminder rallied and gave his team a chance to tie it up, but he was eventually beaten by a Sean Monahan one-timer from the slot with just over two minutes left in the third. Varlamov wasn't playing all that well even before he got hurt -- since the beginning of December, he carries a 3.42 GAA and .894 save percentage over seven appearances -- and while Ilya Sorokin hasn't been sharp of late either, a return to a timeshare between them seems unlikely.