Thomas Greiss made 16 saves as the starting goalie for the New York Islanders in a 4-0 win against the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Saturday.
Greiss was replacing Semyon Varlamov, who had started 14 of New York’s 15 games this postseason.
It was the third game for Greiss this postseason; he made 36 saves in a 3-2 win in Game 4 on Sunday, and made 20 saves in relief in a 4-3 overtime loss in Game 2 on Aug. 26 after Varlamov allowed three goals on 10 shots.
Varlamov was 9-4 with a 2.00 goals-against average and .921 save percentage and two shutouts this postseason. He allowed nine goals in the past two games, each an overtime loss that prevented New York from ending the best-of-7 series.
“You think it right through,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said after the morning skate. “Part of coaching is getting a feel for where guys are, where they are in terms of their game, in terms of their life, in terms of their energy, all that, is getting a feel for it.”
Varlamov and Greiss alternated the first 33 starts of the regular season before Varlamov started 22 of the final 35.
Greiss was 16-9-4 with a 2.74 GAA and a .913 save percentage in 31 games (29 starts) this season, and Varlamov was 19-14-6 with a 2.62 GAA and a .914 save percentage with two shutouts.
