Sergei Bobrovsky’s brilliance leads Florida Panthers to second straight Stanley Cup title
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — The loudest cheers among Florida Panthers fans at Amerant Bank Arena are always for Sergei Bobrovsky.
The “Bob-by!” chants lasted well into the early hours of Wednesday morning after Bobrovksy led the Florida Panthers to their second straight Stanley Cup championship.
Florida fans know how important the veteran goaltender is to their team.
So do the Panthers.
It’s why Florida never appeared rattled during its third straight Stanley Cup Final run. The Panthers remained even-keeled, never looking too far ahead, and certainly not harping on the past — mirroring the attitude of their unflappable, two-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender.
And Bobrovsky rewarded their trust in him with a brilliant showing in this year’s playoffs, which he stamped with a 28-save effort in Florida’s 5-1 romp over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6.
“It’s an amazing feeling, obviously,” Bobrovksy said. “I wanted to say thank you to the group of guys. … the dedication, the sacrifice it’s been amazing. All of my career, I had so many ups and downs, not many people believed in me. That’s why I thank God for this experience. I can’t be more humbled and appreciative.”
He stopped 192 of 209 shots in the final. He nearly had his fourth shutout of the postseason Tuesday before Vasily Podkolzin broke up that bid with the Oilers’ only goal with 4:39 left.
With Tuesday’s win, Bobrovsky moved to 13-8 in 22 series-clinching games, tying Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy (13-9) for the most among active goaltenders.
He was even more dominant than last year’s title run, when he was again a key piece in Florida’s success with a .906 save percentage.
Bobrovsky made 42 saves in each of the first two games of the series in Edmonton. Both of which were thrillers, both of which went to overtime. He then held the Oilers to one goal in a Game 3 win, stopping 32 shots to lift the Panthers to a 2-1 series lead.
After the Panthers blew a 3-0 lead in Game 4, Bobrovsky stopped 19 of the 21 shots he faced in a tremendous Game 5 effort by both the goalie and the Florida defense, putting them in a position to clinch the championship on home ice.
“Bob impresses you on a daily basis with just how he prepares and all of the little things that he does to be the best goalie in the world,” defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. “You almost don’t want to look him in the eyes sometimes when you’re walking around the dressing room because he’s just so dialed in. But he really is a down-to-earth guy, too. He’s not one of those goalies that worries about his routine and stuff. You can sit and have a chat with him. He’s a good person, a good guy.”
Ask Florida’s veteran goaltender what he thinks of his success and he will likely sum it up in a few words. He’ll express his gratitude and talk about how great it is to play the game he loves. Then he will deflect the attention to his teammates.
That’s who he’s been since he took the starting job three games into the first round in 2023 and what the Panthers have come to appreciate about him. He’s been the calming presence in their locker room amid all kinds of chaos during this dominant three-year run.
“We came in, worked hard, and here we are,” he said.
His focus is always on what it takes to win and his credit always goes to the ones around him.
That simple approach has worked for him.
Going back to the 2023 playoffs, no goalie has more wins, saves or shutouts than Bobrovsky. And he’s doing it all at an age — 36 — that most would say he shouldn’t — he’s the second-oldest goaltender in the last decade with a playoff shutout.
Entering Tuesday, only three other goalies since 1981-82 had won the Vezina Trophy twice and hoisted the Stanley Cup trophy multiple times.
Bobrovsky joined that group on Tuesday.
The others?
They’re all Hall of Famers.
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl