What is happening with Sergei Bobrovsky? Here is the evidence that something incomprehensible is happening
Unfortunately for Montreal Canadiens fans, the Florida Panthers are currently defying all possible predictions.
After being the last team to qualify for the playoffs, narrowly saving themselves thanks to their 30-year-old backup goaltender, Alex Lyon, who came out of nowhere and played the final eight games of the season for a victorious push into the postseason, this team continues to surprise.
Against all odds, the Panthers defeated the powerful Boston Bruins, who had just concluded the season with a historic record of 65-12-5. There was a staggering 43-point difference between the two teams in the overall standings.
While Lyon started the first three playoff games, head coach Paul Maurice decided to trust their veteran, Sergei Bobrovsky, starting from the fourth game of the first-round series.
Since then, after overcoming a 1-3 deficit against the Bruins and securing a victory in the seventh game, in overtime, the Panthers, and especially Bobrovsky, have been unrecognizable.
The 34-year-old Russian goaltender has been simply exceptional, which is the complete opposite of his performances this season, and I would even say in recent years. In 13 playoff games, he has a 2.15 goals against average and a 0.935 save percentage.
However, there is an even more mind-boggling statistic about Bobrovsky that proves how outstanding he is currently playing, while also fueling the confusion surrounding his performances.
In his last eight regular-season games, according to the statistic of goals saved above expected, he had a -9.3 goals saved. This means that, statistically speaking, he allowed 9.3 more goals than expected in just 8 games, which is truly dreadful performance-wise.
On the other hand, it's the complete opposite in the playoffs, as he has saved 11.3 goals in eight postseason games. This result excludes yesterday's game, where he ended the night with a 32-save shutout, which would undoubtedly have increased this statistic. So, he has saved significantly more than one goal per game since being in net for the Panthers.
It's simply astonishing how the situation has turned around, especially considering that six of these last eight games have been decided by a one-goal margin!
The Panthers are on a mission, but they owe their survival in the playoffs mainly to Bobrovsky, who has stolen several games when his team was outmatched by the opponent.
| POLL | ||
If the Panthers win the Stanley Cup, who is your choice for the Conn Smythe Trophy? | ||
| Matthew Tkachuk | 48 | 21.2 % |
| Brandon Montour | 9 | 4 % |
| Sergei Bobrovsky | 163 | 72.1 % |
| Carter Verhaeghe | 6 | 2.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
