Florida Panthers goaltender duo ‘playing unreal’ right now. The numbers behind it
When it comes to deciding a goaltender on any given night, Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice doesn’t really have to worry these days.
For one thing, he leaves almost all decisions about who is in net to goaltender coach Rob Tallas.
For another thing, both of the Panthers’ goaltenders — starter Sergei Bobrovsky and backup Anthony Stolarz — are playing at an extremely high level as Florida continues to gain momentum ahead of the playoffs.
The proof: The Panthers have allowed no more than two goals over a franchise-record 13 consecutive games, a run during which Florida has gone 11-2-0.
“Well, I don’t know anything about it, so that works pretty well for me,” Maurice said with a smirk last week when asked about the luxury about not having to think too much about his goaltenders. “Robbie Tallas works hard and puts effort into getting those guys what they need. He’s done a really good job of spelling them off. ... Our goaltending has been very, very good.”
Saying his goaltenders are playing “very, very good” still might be an understatement.
Over this 13-game stretch, which started on Jan. 22, Bobrovsky and Stolarz have combined to allow just 20 goals on 387 shots on goal — that’s a .948 save percentage — and each has a shutout.
Their combined 1.51 goals against average over this stretch is the best in the NHL in that span. Florida’s goalies have faced 153 high-danger scoring chances during this stretch, according to the advanced hockey statistics website Natural Stat Trick. Only 10 of those have turned into goals.
“We like to a play defensive structure,” Stolarz said. “With that in mind, Bobby and I know you have to make big saves.”
Their production in net during this run is really just a continuation of what they have been doing all season.
Bobrovsky is 28-11-2 this season with a 2.36 goals against average, .916 save percentage and three shutouts.
Stolarz is 10-5-2 with a 1.97 goals against average, .925 save percentage and one shutout.
Of the 59 goaltenders in the NHL with at least 15 starts this season entering Monday, Stolarz’s save percentage is the second-highest. Bobrovsky’s is ninth. Florida is the only team with two goalies among the top 10.
“We have two really good goalies that are playing unreal for us right now,” defenseman Gustav Forsling said, “so we want to keep that going.”
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