Eyes On Isles
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Islanders Semyon Varlamov and former player named NHL stars this week

By Michel Anderson

TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 20: Semyon Varlamov #40 is congratulated by his teammate, Thomas Greiss #1 after his 2-0 shutout victory against the Washington Capitals in Game Five to win the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 20, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 20: Semyon Varlamov #40 is congratulated by his teammate, Thomas Greiss #1 after his 2-0 shutout victory against the Washington Capitals in Game Five to win the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 20, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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Every week the NHL celebrates three players who had standout weeks for their respective teams along with a frontline healthcare worker. Of the three players to receive the weekly honor a current and former New York Islanders made the cut.

The NHL’s three stars this week were Thomas Greiss (1), Connor McDavid (2), and Semyon Varlamov (3). The frontline healthcare worker is Saint Joseph Mercy Health System regional director of pharmacy Joanne MacDonald.

Number one star for former New York Islanders netminder

For Semyon Varlamov, his inclusion seems obvious. In two games this week, Varly stopped all 53 shots he faced across both games. That’s four shutouts in six games against the Rangers this season. He also crushed the Islandesr shutout streak record that had stood in place since 1975.

With his two shutouts against the Rangers, Varlamov is currently sitting on a 213-minute shutout streak. The previous record, held by Chico Resch was 178 minutes. And Varly can push it even longer in his next outing. Whenever that happens to be.

Varly now has seven shutouts on the year, that’s a record for the Russian netminder who previously had five in a full NHL season. Remember, he’s doing this in what is effectively half a season while sharing the crease with Sorokin.

With all those shutouts from Varlamov, I thought about looking at the team’s ability to win the Jennings Trophy for the second time in three years.

The Isles sit with 112 goals against. That’s second in the NHL. The Vegas Golden Knights sit ahead of them with 108 goals against. The Golden Knights have six games to play compared to the Isles five.

Thomas Greiss was just as exceptional in nets for the RedWings with two shutouts of his own. He stopped 66 shots across two games this week against Blue Jackets and Lightning. That’s a more impressive feat for Greiss who’s got a weaker defensive Detroit Red Wings team in front of him than Varlamov has with the New York Islanders. Big congrats to former Islander Thomas Greiss who continues to be a great player.

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