Some hockey achievements lend themselves to trivia. Varlamov has a resume full of such feats.

Selected by the Washington Capitals in the first round (No. 23) of the 2006 NHL Draft, the Russian brought his 6-foot-2 frame and quick reflexes to North America for the 2008-09 season after four seasons in his native country.

A four-time call-up to the Capitals from the American Hockey League that season, Varlamov was 20 years and 230 days old when he stopped 31 of 32 shots to win his NHL debut against the Montreal Canadiens on Dec. 13, 2008. That made him the youngest Russian goaltender to play in the NHL and the first goalie in 30 years to win his League debut at Montreal. 

Varlamov won his first three starts - the first Capitals goalie to do so since Jim Carey in 1994-95 - and finished the regular season 4-0-1 in six games (five starts). Inserted as the Capitals starter for Game 2 of their first-round playoff series with the New York Rangers in 2009, Varlamov lost his postseason debut 1-0. But a 33-save, 4-0 win in Game 3 made him the fourth NHL goalie with a playoff shutout before his 21st birthday. A 20-save shutout in Game 5 made Varlamov the second Capitals goalie to have two shutouts in one playoff series and started Washington's comeback from a 3-1 deficit (the Capitals would win the series in seven games).

A rookie in 2009-10, Varlamov led Washington in goals-against average (2.55) and shutouts (two), was second in games (26) and wins (15) and finished third among rookie NHL goalies in GAA and save percentage (.911). He played in Games 2-7 of Washington's first-round playoff series with Montreal in 2010, winning his first three starts.

In 2010-11, Varlamov finished fourth in the NHL in GAA (2.23) and had a .924 save percentage, breaking Olaf Kolzig's Capitals record of .920 set in 1997-98. But he did not start a game for the Capitals in the 2011 playoffs, and on July 1 of that year Washington traded him to the Colorado Avalanche.

He led the Avalanche in wins the next two seasons. In 2013-14 he benefited from the hiring of Avalanche great Patrick Roy, a former goaltender, as Colorado's coach and the installation of Francois Allaire as the goaltending coach. Varlamov finished second in Vezina Trophy voting and fourth in the Hart Trophy balloting after leading the League with 41 wins. He got his 100th NHL victory on March 12, 2014, making 37 saves in a 3-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Varlamov set an NHL record for most saves in a regular-season road shutout, stopping 54 shots in a 2-0 win against Chicago on Jan. 6, 2015. Varlamov's 108th win with the Avalanche, against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Oct. 29, 2015, moved him into second place on Colorado's wins list behind Roy.