The Islanders goalie did a headfirst dive into the huddle where his teammates celebrated their 2-1 double-overtime victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final on Tuesday.
Trailing 3-1 and facing elimination in the best-of-7 series, Varlamov made 36 saves, was named First Star, and even helped out teammate Johnny Boychuk after his
skate blade failed him
while blocking a shot in the first period.
So when Jordan Eberle scored the game-winning goal at 12:30 of the second overtime, Varlamov couldn't help but make a beeline for a full-extension dive to the jubilant Islanders.
"I just jumped because I was so excited for us," Varlamov said. "Our season was on the line today in this game. When we scored that goal, it was just a lot of emotions going through like in that moment. I was just so happy for the guys and I was so happy for us. … We have a chance to continue to play."
Game 6 is Thursday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS).
NHL.com deputy managing editor Brian Compton contributed to this report
