Semyon Varlamov stopped 15 shots and the New York Islanders and Montreal Canadiens found themselves in a 0-0 deadlock after 20 minutes of play Saturday night at the Bell Centre.

The Canadian spent a lot of time in the offensive zone, but the Islanders did a good job protecting the slot and the front of the net.

Varlamov got lucky just over 13 minutes into the game, when Brendan Gallagher deflected a Johnathan Kovacevic shot against the post. On the return, the puck was stopped by the skate of Alexander Romanov, then Varlamov dove to frustrate Christian Dvorak.

At the other end of the ice, Samuel Montembeault was not really tested. He made 10 saves.

Forward Jake Evans was in the Canadian’s lineup after missing the team’s practices over the past two days.

The Canadian will play three times abroad next week, before his Christmas break. He will visit the Winnipeg Jets on Monday, the Minnesota Wild on Thursday and the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday.