Jaroslav Halak is Also an All-Star, Because Injuries Happen

New York Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak has been named to the 2015 All-Star Game as an injury replacement along with Marc-Andre Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who replace the injured Jimmy Howard and Pekka Rinne.

This is a nice honor for the goalie in his first year with the team, and means the Isles will have two representatives at the Jan. 25 game held in Columbus. He joins captain John Tavares, who was named in the original list of honorees.

The recognition is based largely on Halak's gaudy 23-8 record and the apparent attribute of having ice running through his veins, as little has seemed to faze the goalie this season.

Last time the Islanders had a goalie participate in All-Star weekend, well ... never mind.

Congratulations to Halak. Here he is on IslesTV talking about the nod after practice, with a few choice excerpts below, including why he signed with the Isles and what else has made them better:

"Obviously it's a team effort. We have a lot of guys who deserve to go. I was happy to hear the news, but obviously you never want to see other guys get injured. It's gonna be a lot of fun, and I look forward to it."

[...]

"We've had some bad games too, me personally included, but it's all in how you react, how you play the next game. I think we've been pretty steady through the whole season so far."

Indeed.