The Islanders are used to losing in gut-punch fashion, but not like this.

Ilya Sorokin has been here before, and that is ultimately the biggest reason to believe he can handle it now.

The Islanders are all the way across the country, but Mullett Arena felt a lot like home on Thursday.

Semyon Varlamov exited Tuesday night's Islanders game against the Avalanche after just 14:52 with an apparent injury, with Ilya Sorokin coming in relief.

The Islanders are right back to holding their collective breath about goaltending.

Jake Guentzel and Evgeni Malkin each scored twice, Kris Letang had six assists including five in the second period alone, and the Pittsburgh Penguins toppled the New York Islanders 7-0 on Wednesday night at UBS Arena.

The Avalanche imposed their will on the Islanders throughout a 5-4 overtime loss in which the Isles were extremely fortunate to get a point, with Nathan MacKinnon scoring the winner at four-on-three.

It ended up being just the response the Islanders needed, in the form of a dominant 5-1 win over the Capitals that will allow them to wash the memory of Wednesday from their minds.

Semyon Varlamov did not dress for Fridays game against the Capitals and was declared day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. Coach Lane Lambert said it was undecided whether Varlamov would travel on the teams four-game road trip that starts in Pittsburgh on Sunday and rolls through the Southwest.