It isn’t very often when the highlight of a double overtime NHL playoff game is a goalie celebration. We saw just that on Tuesday night in a postseason contest between the New York Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov made 36 saves to lead his team past the Lightning in double overtime in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final. After Jordan Eberle scored the winning goal, Varlamov skated all the way down the ice and slid head-first into the Isles’ goal celebration.
Epic celebration from Semyon Varlamov as Islanders win in double overtime pic.twitter.com/k6d6VEtmxa
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) September 16, 2020
It was easily the best celebration we’ve seen in these NHL playoffs. The spotlight following Varlamov all the way down the ice in this clip makes it just that more epic.
Long version of the Semyon Varlamov slip and slide celebration. Awesome. pic.twitter.com/H9ZRdp8tbu
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) September 16, 2020
The Varlamov slip and slide celebration brought back memories of another NHL goalie doing a similar celebration one season ago. After the Carolina Hurricanes upset the Washington Capitals in Round 1 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Canes’ goaltender Petr Mrazek celebrated by sliding along the ice.
Petr Mrazek just a tad excited about upsetting the Caps pic.twitter.com/NhHZghUkZh
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) April 25, 2019
Goalie celebrations are awesome to watch, and we can only hope we see more enthusiasm from Varlamov if the Islanders are able to rally from this 3-2 series deficit and upset the second-seeded Lightning.
