Just how good has the Florida Panthers’ Sergei Bobrovsky been? A look at the numbers
.JPG "Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) stops a shot on goal by Minnesota Wild left wing Kevin Fiala (22) during the second period at an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)")
For a glimpse at just how locked in Sergei Bobrovsky has been to start this season for the Florida Panthers, look at two specific sequences from the second period of Saturday’s 5-4 win over the Minnesota Wild.
Eight minutes into the period, Bobrovsky saved a Brandon Duhaime wrist shot coming in from his right, watched as the rebound crossed diagonally and, a second later, sprawled out to his left to stop the second-chance shot from Nico Strum. As Bobrovsky stood up during the stoppage in play, Panthers defenseman MacKenzie Weegar could be seen saying “wow” next to his goaltender.
And then later in the period was a 20-second sequence of dominance. With about four minutes left in the period and Florida holding on to a two-goal lead, he stopped a backanded shot from Kevin Fiala on a breakaway, another Fiala wrist shot in front of the net after a couple passes around the boards, a third attempt from Fiala after the winger wrapped around the net, and, finally, a Ryan Hartman shot from the point.
The crowd at FLA Live Arena got louder with each successive save, raising to a crescendo as Owen Tippett finally cleared the puck out of Florida’s defensive zone.
“When he makes big saves like that and the crowd is cheering,” Tippett said, “it just gets everyone fired up and the intensity goes up.”
Overall, Bobrovsky saved 35 of 39 shots on goal on Saturday with only one goal coming at even strength. The first goal came on a power play seconds after he lost his stick. The final two came when the Wild went with an empty net and had a six-on-five advantage — a 5:15 stretch in which Bobrovsky still stopped seven of nine shots and his defense blocked another three attempts.
“He’s made some huge saves at important times for us,” interim coach Andrew Brunette said.
After two rough seasons to begin his Panthers career, Bobrovsky is off to arguably the best 11-game start of his 12-year NHL career.
The stats: an 8-0-2 record, a .937 save percentage and a 1.99 goals against average.
Personally, it’s the first time Bobrovsky’s team has earned points (either a win or a non-regulation loss) in each of his first 11 starts. He’s the first goaltender in Panthers history to earn points in each of his first 10 decisions — he did not factor into the win-loss record of Florida’s overtime win over the Washington Capitals on Nov. 4 after leaving with an injury.
He has had a save percentage above .930 in seven of the 10 games he has played to completion.
The goals against average is a career-best to start a season — the only time he’s allowed fewer than two goals per 60 minutes in net through his first 11 games. The save percentage is also the highest of his career through 11 games. His previous best was the .935 mark he had to open the 2016-2017 season — the year he won his second Vezina Trophy, given annually to the NHL’s top goaltender.
“He has been unbelievable,” winger Carter Verhaeghe said. “He keeps us in every game. He makes huge saves at the right time. ... He’s been one of the goalies in the league.”
Through Saturday’s games, Bobrovsky’s save percentage is tied for the third-best in the league among goaltenders who have started at least 10 games — matching the mark of the Carolina Hurricanes’ Frederik Andersen and slightly behind the Calgary Flames’ Jacob Markstrom (.942) and Toronto Maple Leafs’ Jack Campbell (.944). His goals against average is fourth, behind those three (1.66 for Campbell, 1.71 for Markstrom and 1.89 for Andersen).
Compare that to his first two seasons in Florida. He had an .897 save percentage and 3.11 goals against average 11 games into the 2020-2021 season. In his first 11 games in net in the 2019-2020 season, his save percentage was .873 with a 3.70 goals against average — both the second-worst marks to start a season in his career.
Not the case this year, as the Panthers are finally getting the performance they hoped to get from Bobrovsky when they signed him.
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