After a 6-1 preseason loss to the Rangers, the Islanders assigned five players to AHL Hamilton and placed five forwards on waivers Saturday. Semyon Varlamov allowed all six goals, but coach Pete DeBoer said he can handle an NHL role alongside Ilya Sorokin.
Assigned to Hamilton were forwards Alex Jeffries, Daniil Prokhorov and Matthew Highmore, goalie Joshua Kotai, and defenseman Marshall Warren. Forwards Mitchell Chaffee, Pierre Engvall, Liam Foudy, Daylan Kuefler and Matt Luff were placed on waivers for reassignment to Hamilton.
DeBoer noted a mismatch in lineups, with the Islanders using an AHL-heavy group. Varlamov, returning from double-knee surgery, was offered the chance to come out after two periods but chose to play the third.
