Semyon Varlamov (Luis Alvarez/AP)
Semyon Varlamov made his 2009-2010 Regular season debut for the Washington Capitals on home ice against the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 6:4 win on October 3rd. For the first two periods he was outstanding and allowed just one goal on 25 shots. However, in the third period, when the score was already 6-1 in favor of the Caps, it looked like Washington let their foot off the table, allowing the Leafs to get back into the game with three third period goals.
Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau affirmed this position when he said "Our team let him down. There wasn't much he could do on any of the goals in the third period -- rebounds and deflections, and through screens. It's tough to stop those."
Varlamov, who is battling for the starting spot with Jose Theodore, who only allowed one goal in his first start of the season against the Boston Bruins, was visibly upset about the third period meltdown when I and my Sovetsky Sport colleague Dmitry Shumin spoke with him after the game. Here is what Semyon told Shumin about his physical condition, his relationship with Jose Theodore, and few other things.
Semyon, how are you feeling physically?
Physically, I am feeling better than during the preseason games. The regular season has started, I am in good physical condition, and my condition is getting better and better every day.
Did you hear the crowd, how excited the fans were, when you came out for the warm ups?
Yes, I did, and I was so happy and so excited myself! I could tell that our fans really missed hockey.
Did you miss them too?
Oh, yeah, I sure did! We have amazing fans! They were great tonight! They are great every night! It feels wonderful to play in front of a home crowd like this. They give us inspiration, after all, we play for them, and it’s an amazing feeling to see so many great fans in the stands.
Did Bruce Boudreau tell you how he plans to split starts between you and Jose Theodore?
Right now I don’t know. We [Jose and I] don’t know who will get the next start. We don’t have any set schedule, so, Bruce tells us the day before the game who will be the starting goalie. I think later on the coach will make his decision on who the number one goalie is, and play him more than the other one. So, we’ll see what happens.
It seems like you and Jose Theodore give warm hugs to each other after the game, you gave him one after the game against Boston, and he gave you one tonight. How’s your relationship with him?
We have very nice relationship with Theo. We support each other, and I really hope it will continue like this. He is a great person!
Do you think you benefit from this competition [with Theodore], or do you think this uncertainty just adds more pressure on you?
Any competition is always a good thing for me. It does not let me relax even for a minute, even though I don’t relax anyway, because I know how difficult it is to make it to the NHL and to become one of the two goalies, and it’s even more difficult to become the number one goalie. Some players play in the minor leagues for ten years before they even make it to the NHL.
Will you go over the details of this game with your coach Arturs Irbe?
Yes, of course, we do it after every game. We’ll sit down and look at the mistakes I’ve made. We also work on mistakes during every practice. I still make mistakes, but I think it’s because it’s just a beginning of the season. However, I know what I have to do [to improve], I need to work more on my technique, and I have to let in less goals than I did tonight and during the preseason.
We also spoke with the First Star of the Game Alexander Semin. That interview is coming up next.
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