Islanders' Goalie Halak Heading To All-Star Game As Injury Replacement

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- He's been worth every dollar.

When the Islanders traded for Jaroslav Halak's rights and then signed him to a four-year, $18 million contract over the summer, they envisioned a horse No. 1 goalie that could carry them to new heights.

So far, so good.

On Thursday, Halak was rewarded for his stellar first half as he was named to the All-Star Game as an injury replacement for Detroit's Jimmy Howard, who could be sidelined up to a month with a slight groin tear.

"It's obviously a big honor to go to the All-Star Game," Halak told the Isles' official website. "I'm really happy and I'm going to enjoy it, that's for sure. I have a good record as a goalie, but you need the five guys in front of you to do the job to or else I wouldn't be going there."

Halak has been a force for the Isles, who were atop the Eastern Conference heading into Thursday's action, going 23-8-0 with a 2.22 GAA, .917 save percentage and four shutouts. The 29-year-old from Slovakia is coming off a 27-save effort in a 3-0 win over the Rangers on Tuesday.

"Jaro is a determined guy, he's very focused and a leader for our hockey club," head coach Jack Capuano said. "It's a well-deserved honor for him."

Also on Thursday, the NHL announced that Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury had been chosen as an injury replacement for Nashville's Pekka Rinne. The NHL's wins leader with 29, Rinne went down with a sprained knee on Tuesday night against Vancouver and will be re-evaluated after the All-Star break.

According to the New York Post, the Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist likely would have been chosen for one of the slots, but he made it clear he preferred to rest during the break.

Lundqvist, the 2011-12 Vezina Trophy winner, is 20-9-3 with a 2.31 goals-against average, .917 save percentage and five shutouts. He had posted a .939 save percentage over his previous 11 games heading into the loss to the Islanders on Tuesday night, a game in which he was pulled after allowing all three goals in the second period.

The other goalies who will take part in the All-Star Game on Jan. 25 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio are Chicago's Corey Crawford, Montreal's Carey Price, Florida's Roberto Luongo and Sergei Bobrovsky of the host Blue Jackets.

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