Bobrovsky: Stats Do Not Matter for the Florida Panthers. Wins Do

SUNRISE — When things were not going all that well for Sergei Bobrovsky and the Florida Panthers, the only thing that mattered was the end result.

Well, life is good these days for Bobrovsky and the Panthers.

And the only thing that matters is what is in the win and loss column.

Bobrovsky is brining it — regardless of what the individual statistics say.

Saturday night against the Flyers, Bobrovsky allowed three goals for the seventh time this season.

His 32 goals-against this season are tied for sixth-most in the NHL.

The bottom line is, do you care?

Bobrovsky got his eighth win of the season — ranked second-most in the league behind Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck’s 11 — and led the Panthers to their seventh straight win in a 4-3 shootout win against the Flyers.

If not for Bobrovsky, Florida (10-3-1) probably loses.

You could say that about a number of their games.

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They know this.

“He was the difference tonight, clearly,’’ said coach Paul Maurice, whose team has won seven straight, have points in 11 of the past 13, and own the second-best record in the NHL thus far.

“We haven’t asked him or forced him to do that too often, but he rises to that. So, I don’t look at Sergei’s stats at all, or Spencer Knight, for that matter. I watch the game.’’

Yes, the Panthers appreciate what Bobrovsky brings on a nightly basis.

He only cares about the end result.

Bobrovsky and the Panthers are all on the same page.

“Bobby gets better the bigger the game, the higher the stakes, the more tense it is and today he showed that,’’ said Evan Rodrigues, who had two assists in regulation and scored the winner in the shootout.

“When he makes more saves and he gets more action, that’s when he is even better and takes his game to another level. He showed it tonight.”

As Rodrigues alluded, Bobrovsky was once again terrific on Saturday night.

Do his stats look all that great?

Kind of, but not jump-off-the-page spectacular.

Only Bobrovsky was terrific.

Bobrovsky allowed three goals on 31 shots through regulation — and was so much better than those numbers indicate.

In a wide-open (and often completely defenseless) overtime, Bobrovsky stopped six shots.

He made four more in a five-round shootout in which only Owen Tippett scored.

“This game came down to what felt like a goalie battle at the end and Bob came out on top,” said Philadelphia goalie Sam Ersson, who was terrific as well.

“You want to win those. That is the game-within-a-game for us goalies, and [Bobrovsky] won it in OT and the shootout.”

The Panthers looked liked they had some dead legs.

Bobrovsky had to make one big save after another — early in the game when Philadelphia was outshooting the Panthers 10-1.

He had to do so again when Florida’s energy appeared to be running out.

“It was fun to watch,” Sam Bennett said. “He put on a show.”

Said Nate Schmidt: “Bob was fantastic tonight. It was really fun to watch.”

At the end of the day, Bobrovsky has won his past five starts with the Panthers taking their seven-game win streak into Tuesday’s game against the New Jersey Devils.

Bobrovsky’s .892 save percentage is ranked 42nd in the NHL, his 2.95 GAA ranked 39th.

Again, Bobrovsky is 8-2-1 and only one goalie in the league has a better record than that.

Really, that is all that matters.

“That was a fun challenge,” Bobrovsky said. “Definitely lots of breakaways. I think it was fun for the fans, too, and we had some great scoring chances. It’s just fun all-around.

ON DECK: GAME 16

NEW JERSEY DEVILS AT FLORIDA PANTHERS 

• When: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• Local TV: None
• National Streaming: ESPN+/Hulu
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Season Series — At Panthers: Tuesday, Thursday. At Devils: Jan. 14.
• Last Season: Florida won 2-1
• All-time Regular Season Series: Devils lead 58-37-7, 7 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Thursday vs. New Jersey Devils*, 7 p.m. (Local TV)

(*) — Not a Typo. Florida plays New Jersey in consecutive home games.