WHAT ABOUT BOBROVSKY?
Russian could puzzle Canadians
TORONTO The best quote about Sergei Bobrovsky’s play at the World Cup of Hockey came from his teammate, Nikita Zaitsev, who said the Russian goalie’s been “the most important part to our team.”
The worst quote might have come from Bobrovsky’s head coach.
Following a 21-save shutout against Finland on Thursday, which qualified Russia for the semifinal against Canada, Oleg Znarok said: “It is an ice hockey game and he did block. All goalies do that — block shots.”
Maybe something was lost in translation.
Or maybe Znarok has been so spoiled by watching Bobrovsky play that he forgot that most other goalies don’t usually spend the entire game standing on their heads and making highlight-reel saves.
Blocking shots? Technically, I guess that’s what the 28-year-old Bobrovsky has been doing in the tournament. But you’d have to be blind not to realize that he is also doing so much more for Russia.
The Columbus Blue Jackets goalie is the reason why Russia, a team that has forwards who don’t like to backcheck and defencemen whose names you probably have not heard of, advanced to the semifinals, where the Canadians, who went 3-0 in the round robin, now await.
It was Bobrovsky who robbed Connor McDavid on a breakaway in a 4-3 win against North America. And it was Bobrovsky who stopped every shot he faced in a 3-0 win against Finland. And if Russia hopes to knock off the host country on Saturday night, Bobrovsky’s going to have to keep it up.
“If your goalie makes key saves, it’s always important to help your teammates in terms of feeling confidence,” said Russian defenceman Andrei Markov.
“It’s huge for us. He’s doing a good job and hopefully he’s going to do the same to the end, you know.”
The focus on Saturday night’s game between Canada and Russia will undoubtedly centre on Sid versus Ovie. That’s a given.
There’s too much history between the two star players, who are the faces of their respective countries, to ignore. But the real battle will happen in net.
Whether Alex Ovechkin scores or not, the biggest obstacle standing in the way of Canada’s path to the World Cup final is Bobrovsky, who has recaptured his Vezina Trophy form from 2013 and arguably been the best goalie so far in the tournament.
Bobrovsky is going to have to do as his coach expects and “block shots.”