George Richards, FHN Publisher
SUNRISE — The trials and tribulations of Sergei Bobrovsky over his previous two seasons with the Florida Panthers have been well documented.
The low point for Bobrovsky in South Florida came last May in the playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Bobrovsky’s uneven performance against the Lightning in last year’s postseason exit had some wondering whether he would be up for the task in leading the Panthers this time around.
Through the first two games of this opening-round series against the Washington Capitals, the answer has been a resounding yes.
“It’s fun hockey, fun to be here,” Bobrovsky said Thursday night. “It’s fun to compete with your teammates, shoulder to shoulder and go through these things. It was a great game tonight, and we are happy with the win.”
Bobrovsky kept the Panthers in a playoff opener in which they were outplayed and ultimately defeated 4-2. In Game 2, Bobrovsky was terrific early on, allowing the Panthers to find their way and eventually get going in a 5-1 win to even the series.
Florida plays Game 3 in Washington on Saturday afternoon and the Panthers, again, will be relying on Bobrovsky.
”Watching him, you can tell he is dialed in,” coach Andrew Brunette said. “A lot of it is his movement, how I see him in the net; whether he looks big or looks busy. He seems to be on every puck and that is a really good sign.’’
Bobrovsky is a guy who likes living in the moment, often saying he only focuses on the shot that is coming his way.
But last year’s ouster in the playoffs — and the two up-and-down seasons which proceeded it — appeared to have affected him.
Against Tampa Bay, Bobrovsky started Game 1 but was replaced by Driedger for Game 2. He relieved Driedger and ended up getting the Game 3 win on Ryan Lomberg’s overtime goal, but was pulled in Game 4.
The Panthers went with rookie Spencer Knight in Game 5 — with Driedger as the backup — and kept that tandem for Game 6 as well. Bobrovsky did not even dress for Florida’s final two games of 2021.
“It is what it is. I definitely wasn’t happy with that,” Bobrovsky said following the second day of training camp.
“There is management and coaches and they decided that. That’s their decision but I leave it at that. Of course I’m not happy but I don’t want to think about it. This is a new season and a new opportunity. I have to prepare myself to play my best hockey.”
Bobrovsky said when this season started that he took last summer a little differently. With their first child on the way, Bobrovsky and his wife Olga enjoyed their time together, clearing out his social media accounts as the two traveled and dabbled in cooking, music and art.
He adjusted the way he approached the game as well, changing up the way he approached the puck this season and his play was a marked improvement over his first two seasons with the Panthers.
“I think I have mentioned a couple of times that I thought my workload was managed pretty smart,” Bobrovsky said. “I have been able to work behind the scenes both on and off the ice. It has been a good season for us so far. We’re focused, one game at a time, one shot at a time.”
Saturday, he will return to the place where his brief honeymoon in Florida came to a close.
On Nov. 26, 2019, the Panthers played Washington in a game they should have won. Instead, Bobrovsky gave up four goals on 20 shots in a 4-3 loss — with coach Joel Quenneville expressing some displeasure with his new goalie.
“That was a well-played game from our point of view and we just need some saves to win the game in a game like tonight,” Quenneville said afterward.
“I think every game is different. Goalies get scrutinized to a different level, but in a game like tonight on the road against a good team, you need timely saves, you need big saves and that can be the difference.”
Just a few months after Bobrovsky signed the biggest contract in franchise history, he would be benched by the Panthers.
For Florida’s next game, Chris Driedger — who had just been called up from the minors — was starting against the Predators and getting a shutout in his first NHL start.
After that, the Panthers alternated goalies more often than many thought they would.
But all that stopped this season. Even though the Panthers did give a number of starts to Knight this season, there was never a question of who was the starter in Florida.
Bobrovsky has carried much of the load, going 39-7-3 in 53 starts. They weren’t all works of art, sure, but his play has been much improved.
”I feel good, had a good couple of games before the playoffs,” said Bobrovsky, whose 2.67 GAA and .913 save percentage were his best since signing with the Panthers. “I am seeing the puck well, tracking the puck well. I try to do my best to give the guys a chance to win.”
In this playoff series against the Capitals, Bobrovsky has been pretty darned good.
Florida wasted a strong game from him in Game 1 but did not on Thursday night.
According to MoneyPuck.com, Bobrovsky’s expected-goals against is 7.04 in his two games — yet he has surrendered four. Two of the goals allowed in Game 1 came off a turnover or a defensive breakdown; the other off a power play rebound.
The only ‘bad’ goal he has allowed with Nicklas Backstrom’s odd-angle shot from the goal line in the second period Thursday. It was a tough goal, no doubt, but one Bobrovsky would like to have back.
“Bob kept us in the game, gave us a chance to win,’’ Sasha Barkov said. “We kept building there as the game went on. Now the series is even and we are ready to go.”
One thing Bobrovsky has not done so far in this series is get rattled.
After giving up the game-tying goal in Game 1, Alex Ovechkin shouted something as he skated past Bobrovsky and did it again on Backstrom’s goal Thursday.
Bobrovsky was seen laughing both times.
He did not want to get into the nature of what appeared to be taunts when asked about them on Thursday night.
“I’m not involved in those things. I try and stay in my zone,” Bobrovsky said. “I think there is some talk, yeah, I hear things here and there. But I’m not getting into it. It’s not my business to talk.”