Sergei Bobrovsky on his Panthers season so far: ‘It could be definitely better’
Sergei Bobrovsky nearly watched another game slip away. The veteran netminder, who backstopped the Panthers to its first two Stanley Cups the past two seasons, saw the puck slip into the back of his net twice in the third period against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.
Another late lead blown. Another opportunity whittling away.
But in the end, Bobrovsky and the Panthers finally had a chance to celebrate. They stopped the bleeding there, forcing the game at Amerant Bank Arena into overtime and then eventually a shootout. Bobrovsky turned aside three of the four shots he faced there as Anton Lundell and Brad Marchand scored on the other end to clinch Florida’s 5-4 win over Boston to snap a four-game losing streak and keep what thin hopes the Panthers have still to make the Stanley Cup playoffs alive for at least another night.
“It is important, not only the points and the opponent against but also for the emotional atmosphere in the locker room,” Bobrovsky said. “To get to win and to feel that enjoyment and to feel that fun. [We want to] build that chemistry, and build, step by step, our game.”
Bobrovsky can probably say the same about himself, even as an established veteran playing his 16th year in the NHL.
It has been a trying season so far for Bobrovsky, just as it has been for the Panthers as a whole, who enter Thursday eight points back of a playoff spot with 26 games left to play.
He has had plenty of moments to celebrate. Bobrovsky has moved up a slew of career milestone lists, most recently on Wednesday becoming the eighth player in NHL history to get 450 career wins. He has three shutouts this year and 21 wins overall on the season.
But nearly every major positive even has been met with its share of clunkers.
And it is leading the 37-year-old Bobrovsky toward perhaps his worst season statistically in his Hall of Fame worthy NHL career — and in a contract year no less.
After his start against Boston — a win but one in which he allowed four goals on 29 shots against — Bobrovsky has an .872 save percentage and a 3.13 goals against average.
Among 62 goalies who have played at least 15 games, Bobrovsky’s goals against average ranks 45th and is on pace for the second-worst of his career. His save percentage ranks 57th and is on pace for the worst of his career.
“It could be definitely better, but it could be worse, too,” Bobrovsky said of his season overall. “It is what it is. We’re grinding. It’s not easy. Things are not coming to our way, so we have to fight for them.”
He and the Panthers certainly are fighting. Injuries have ravaged Florida’s roster, with the Panthers regularly playing without anywhere from five to eight regulars. Captain Aleksander Barkov, arguably the NHL’s best defensive forward, hasn’t played all season. Two key defensemen in Seth Jones and Dmitry Kulikov are sidelined, putting more of a burden on Gustav Forsling, Aaron Ekblad and Niko Mikkola to shoulder extra minutes.
Florida is still showing a knack for suppressing shots but more high-danger chances are slipping past.
Consider the following:
The Panthers enter their Thursday game against the Tampa Bay Lightning — their final game before the Olympic break — giving up the fifth-fewest shots on goal per game (25.8). But they have given up 184 goals, the eighth most in the league. Their expected goals against, according to the advanced hockey statistics website Natural Stat Trick, is 178.92, which is the 11th-lowest in the league and an average of 3.195 expected goals allowed per game (slightly below their actual average of 3.29 goals allowed per game). Of their 184 goals allowed, 100 — 54.3% — are classified as high-danger goals, including 73 of the 120 (60.8%) given up by Bobrovsky, whose high-danger goals saved above average mark of minus-18.82 is the worst in the NHL.
How does that compare to the past two regular seasons, when Florida’s defensive system under coach Paul Maurice was fully in place and the team was relatively healthy throughout?
2024-25 season: 26.2 shots on goal allowed per game, 2.72 goals allowed per game, 2.75 expected goals allowed per game; 113 of 223 goals allowed (50.7%) were high danger, including 66 of 130 (50.8%) by Bobrovsky, who had a 0.79 high-danger goals saved above average mark on the season.
2023-24 season: 27.8 shots on goal allowed per game, 2.41 goals allowed per game, 2.76 expected goals allowed per game; 107 of 198 goals allowed (54%) were high-danger, including 76 of 135 (56.3%) by Bobrovsky, who had a 2.10 high-danger goals saved above average mark on the season.
“There’s a small group of people — and I hope all of you are in that group — that would understand the statistics,” Maurice said postgame Wednesday. “We’re fifth or sixth in shots against, but our expected goals against has been quite a bit higher, as it should be, than it’s been the last two years.”
That was on display Wednesday. Of Boston’s 29 shots on goal, 16 were classified as high-danger, including all four of their goals. The first two were Michael Eyssimont breakaways. The third was a Mark Kastelic redirection in front of the net. The fourth was a Casey Mittelstadt shot from the slot off a rebound on the power play.
“I’m still in awe of the way he’s able to mentally handle it,” Maurice said.
For now, Bobrovsky’s focus will be on getting in a good place during the league’s Olympic break. Florida needs him in a right place physically and mentally for a final playoff push.
“It is important, for sure, to have a good break, to refresh the mind, refresh the body and be excited for the second part,” Bobrovsky said. “The most important hockey is in front of us.”
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