Varlamov has played in only two of the last nine games and isn't expected to start anytime soon, Andrew Gross of Newsday reports.

EDGE Analysis

The Islanders are battling with about a half dozen teams in the Eastern Conference for one of the two wild-card berths. Coach Lane Lambert has admitted that he will likely continue to rely on Ilya Sorokin between the pipes, as they don't play back-to-back games until March 14-15. Varlamov could also draw trade interest before the March 3 trade deadline. General manager Lou Lamoriello will need to decide if he should keep a top backup goaltender who isn't going to start maybe more than 2-3 more games this season or trade him for some much-needed offensive firepower.