Sergei Bobrovsky shuts out Calgary Flames as Florida Panthers win third straight game
Sergei Bobrovsky wasn’t challenged much on Saturday.
But the few times he faced pressure, the Florida Panthers’ goaltender handled it admirably.
Bobrovsky stopped all 23 shots he faced for his third shutout of the season as the Panthers defeated the Calgary Flames 3-0 at Amerant Bank Arena. Bobrovsky know has 47 career shutouts, including 14 during his six-year Panthers tenure.
“I love Bob,” Panthers forward Jonah Gadjovich said. “He’s incredible. He’s just a brick wall back there. I love it. He’s fun to watch. He’s a superstar. He holds the fort down for us, so we always just try to do our best to fight for him in front of him, and he does his job back there.”
Florida improves to 37-21-3 on the season and has won eight of its past 10 games — including three of four since returning from the NHL’s break for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. Calgary falls to 28-23-8 and has been shut out in consecutive games.
Bobrovsky, who has now won seven of his past nine starts, faced just six shots on goal in each of the first two periods before Calgary sent 11 his way in the third. He had four separate stretches on Saturday when he went at least five minutes between facing shots on goal.
“Sometimes it’s not easy to keep the the focus,” Bobrovsky said, “but you’re trying to stay with the moment, stay with the game. The guys played unbelievable.”
Gadjovich and Evan Rodrigues scored in the second period for the Panthers, who fired 42 shots at Calgary goaltender Dan Vladar. Mackie Samoskevich added a goal in the third period.
Gadjovich’s goal, his third of the season, came on a second effort after corralling his own rebound 4:47 into the second period. Rodrigues’ goal, his 14th of the season, came from a sharp angle up close with 35.2 seconds remaining in the middle frame.
Samoskevich’s goal, with 3:52 left in regulation, came on a backhanded shot in front of the net off the rush. It’s the rookie’s 10th goal of the season and third in the past five games.
Sam Bennett had a pair of assists for his seventh multi-point game of the season and third in the past seven games.
Florida appeared to score two other times, both in the second period, but neither goal was called on the ice and video review on the first (a Carter Verhaeghe shot from up close) was inconclusive while the second (a Sam Reinhart wrist shot from the right circle that Vladar caught with his glove in the net) was negated by goaltender interference.
“We played a hell of a game today,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “Our gap was good, and they played hard. They battled on pucks and they’re in a playoff fight. It was a good game to be good in and we needed to be.”
The Panthers continue their five-game homestand with three more games next week: Monday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres.
This story was originally published March 1, 2025 at 5:49 PM.
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