As Sergei Bobrovsky enters Year 5 with Florida Panthers, he looks to build on playoff success
Sergei Bobrovsky took a moment to do something he rarely does. The Florida Panthers’ goaltender, entering his 14th NHL season and fifth in South Florida, is always one to focus on the present. He’s rooted in routine. He prioritizes staying grounded, level-headed.
But here, in this instance, Bobrovsky took the time to look back at what he and his teammates had just accomplished a few months earlier. He was stellar in net as the Panthers made an unexpected run to the Stanley Cup Final — the first of Bobrovsky’s career and the second in Panthers history. He started each of Florida’s final 18 games of the playoff run. The Panthers went 12-6 in those games, including a perfect 7-0 in games that went into sudden-death overtime. He was clutch in the moments when the Panthers needed him to be the most.
Even for someone so focused on the here and now, a slight grin appeared as Bobrovsky reflected on the not-so-distant past as he prepared for what’s ahead.
“It was a big experience,” Bobrovsky said. “I think I learned more from those two months of playoff hockey than [I did over] 13 years of my hockey career. Now, there are new challenges, new opportunities in front of us. You don’t know what’s going to happen, what kind of things we’re going to face, but I’m ready.”
As the Panthers prepare to make another run at the Stanley Cup, they need Bobrovsky once again to be ready. He is entrenched as their primary goaltender, with Anthony Stolarz serving as his backup while Spencer Knight begins the season with the Charlotte Checkers, Florida’s American Hockey League affiliate. That starts Thursday with their season opener against the Minnesota Wild.
The results won’t always be perfect. That’s one of the few guarantees that can be made whether talking about Bobrovsky or anyone else on the Panthers’ roster.
One of the other guarantees: Bobrovsky will do what he can to make sure he’s ready for the moment.
“That’s his whole life,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “He has a routine that’s very involved. The hours that he puts in are highly unusual for any player, certainly for a goaltender, so you have a great faith in his preparation.”
Now, preparation doesn’t always equal success. Bobrovsky’s tenure with the Panthers to this point shows that. He’s been great at times and has struggled mightily at others.
Through 185 regular-season games (180 starts) in his first four seasons with Florida, Bobrovsky has a 105-54-14 record, a .905 save percentage, a 2.97 goals against average and five shutouts. Among 15 goalies with at least 150 starts in that span, Bobrovsky’s goals against average is the third worst and his save percentage the fifth worst.
However, when he’s in peak form, it’s hard denying his talent.
His second half of last season exemplifies that.
After Bobrovsky returned from a lower-body injury sustained on Jan. 19 against Montreal that sidelined him through the All-Star Break, he went on a 17-game stretch in which he posted a .915 save percentage and 2.54 goals against average. Florida went 12-4-1 in that run.
Bobrovsky did struggle in his final three starts of regular season (.862 save percentage). He gave way to Alex Lyon for the final nine games of regular season and first three games of playoffs after before rounding back into form on the highest stage once he was back in net.
Just how dominant was Bobrovsky in the playoffs?
After regaining the net after Florida went down 2-1 in the first round against the top-seeded Boston Bruins, Bobrovsky posted a .935 save percentage over 13 starts to get Florida through to the Stanley Cup Final before the Panthers lost in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights.
This included a 50-save effort in Florida’s series-clinching win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Round 2, his franchise-record 63-save performance in the Panthers’ quadruple overtime win over the Carolina Hurricanes to begin the Eastern Conference finals and seven other outings in which he had to make at least 30 saves.
His 7.09 goals saved above average were the second-most across the playoffs behind only Vegas’ Adin Hill (13.65).
“Bob wasn’t just good in the playoffs. Sergei was really good from the time he came back in the middle of the year,” Maurice said. “He had four-and-a-half really strong months here and he gets to build on that. He has the foundation of his work ethic, but he’s also coming back with confidence that he certainly earned last year.”
It’s a defining moment of Bobrovsky’s Panthers tenure, but the time to reminisce has now come and gone. Once he enters the net Thursday to face Minnesota, it’s on to the next chapter. Bobrovsky knows how to compartmentalize key moments, both the good and the bad. The same applies here.
“It’s pretty simple,” Bobrovsky said. “I don’t think too big. I try to stay with the moment, enjoy the moment, do what’s needed for the moment.”
And with that, Bobrovsky is back in the present.
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