If you toss out his two rocky outings at the start of the season, Semyon Varlamov is 8-1-2 with a 1.94 GAA. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

With every game he plays, Semyon Varlamov looks more and more like the Washington Capitals' No. 1 goalie.

Coming off his first regular-season shutout, the rookie will make his fourth consecutive start when the Caps visit the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 6:30 p.m. ET).

Varlamov, 21, returns to the scene of his brilliant NHL debut a year ago. The Russian stopped 32 of 33 shots — including all 14 he faced in the final period — to preserve a 2-1 Capitals win in Montreal last Dec. 13.

Varlamov was thrust into action under strange circumstances. The previous day, No. 1 goalie Jose Theodore suffered a hip injury during the morning skate, and the Capitals called Varlamov up from their minor-league affiliate in Hershey to back up Brent Johnson for that night's home game against Ottawa. Varlamov, though, was down in San Antonio for an AHL game.

Realizing Varlamov wouldn't be able to make it on time, Washington asked Brett Leonhardt — a producer for the Capitals' website — to serve as the emergency backup. The six-foot-seven-inch Leonhardt, who played low-level collegiate hockey in the U.S., dressed, took shots during the pre-game skate, and sat on the bench until Varlamov arrived midway through the first period.

While Leonhardt became merely an interesting footnote in hockey history, the man who replaced him on the bench that night went on to make a name for himself in the playoffs.

Nervous start

After Theodore played poorly in Washington's opening-game loss to the New York Rangers, coach Bruce Boudreau turned to Varlamov, who recorded a pair of shutouts as the Capitals got past New York in seven games.

Things didn't go as smoothly in the next round, as Varlamov was yanked in a humbling 6-2 loss in Game 7 against the eventual Stanley Cup champion Penguins, and Boudreau went back to Theodore as his opening-night starter.

Varlamov had a chance to prove himself when he got the start in the second and third games of this season, but didn't look great in a 6-4 win over lowly Toronto and was benched midway through an ugly 6-5 overtime loss to Philadelphia.

The pricey but uneven Theodore got the bulk of the playing time over the next month and a half, but hasn't played since leaving the team for personal reasons two weeks ago.

Theodore is back, but it appears Varlamov may have overtaken him. The rookie recorded his first career regular-season shutout on Wednesday, stopping 25 shots in a 2-0 win at Buffalo.

Toss out his first two starts, and Varlamov is 8-1-2 with a sparkling 1.94 goals-against average and .933 save percentage this season.

"Nothing really changed," Varlamov said of his recent play. "I'm working on mistakes, trying to minimize the mistakes, and get rid of them. I've also gotten over being nervous."

Peaks and valleys

Boudreau said the rookie has matured.

"The difference is at the beginning of the year, it's your first [full] year coming in and a lot of things happen," the coach said. "Sometimes you've got to settle into your routine and get back to the way you were last year. I think he's doing that now. Every little thing bothered him at the beginning. I think he's letting a little bit of it go.

"Every player goes through peaks and valleys during the course of the year. Maybe his valley was at the beginning of the year."

Varlamov will face a Montreal team that's coming off a 3-1 loss in Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

The Habs have their own young goalie trying to prove he's up to the top start on the depth chart. Carey Price, 22, will make his eighth consecutive start in goal.

Price is 4-2-1 over his last seven, running his record to 7-9-1 with a 2.86 GAA.