Varlamov Named NHL First Star of the Week

Colorado Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov has been named the NHL's First Star for the week ending on Feb. 24, the league announced on Monday.
Varlamov recorded three wins in three outings this week to tie for the league lead and help the Avs to a 4-0-0 record.

The 30-year-old netminder began the week last Monday with a 40-save shutout against the Vegas Golden Knights, his second shutout of the season and 25th of his career. He has now registered 21 clean sheets as a member of the Avalanche, the second-most in franchise history behind Patrick Roy (37).

It marked his fifth career shutout with 40 or more saves, and he is now the fifth Russian-born goaltender in NHL history to record 25 games without allowing a goal.
He followed up the shutout by stopping 26 of the 27 shots he faced in Colorado's 7-1 win over the Central Division-leading Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday. Varlamov finished the week with a 41-save performance in his team's 5-3 win at the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday.

Among goaltenders who made three appearances last week, Varlamov led the league with a .964 save percentage and was second with a 1.34 goals-against average.
The Samara, Russia, native started a season-high nine straight outings from Feb. 7-22 and is 4-1-0 with a 1.41 goals-against average and .958 save percentage over his last five starts.
This is Varlamov's seventh time as a member of the Avalanche that he has been named to the NHL's weekly stars. It is his first since he was named the first start for the week of Jan. 18-24 during the 2015-16 campaign.
He is the third Colorado player to be honored in the league's accolades as Gabriel Landeskog earned first star honors for the week of Oct. 15-21 and Mikko Rantanen was the third star for the week of Oct. 22-28.
Florida Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov was named the league's second star of the week, while Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky earned third star honors.