Semyon Varlamov stops 29 shots in Islanders’ 4-0 win over Flyers

Varlamov stopped 29 shots for his second straight shutout, Andy Greene scored his first playoff goal in a decade and the Islanders opened the series with a 4-0 win over the Flyers on Monday night in Toronto.

“He’s playing fantastic,” Greene said of the goaltender. “He’s making the hard saves look easy and in our breakdowns, we know he’s there for us.”

Varlamov was sharp all night, stretching his scoreless streak to 136 minutes, 20 seconds to become the first Islanders goalie with consecutive playoff shutouts. He has four career playoff shutouts.

Stars 5, Avalanche 2: Dallas scored five unanswered goals, four in the second period, and took a 2-0 lead in the second-round playoff series in Edmonton, Alberta. Trailing 2-0 in the second period, Joe Pavelski and Radek Faksa revitalized the Stars by scoring in a 43-second span during a 5-on-3 advantage. Alexander Radulov knocked in the go-ahead goal when a shot bounced off a stick, into his chest and over Colorado goaltender Pavel Francouz. Esa Lindell then added another with 46 seconds remaining to make it 4-2. The Avalanche pulled Francouz with around two minutes left in the game, but couldn’t score. Anton Khudobin stopped 39 shots as the Stars won their fifth straight game.