Bobrovsky hasn’t lived up to contract
Panthers goalie has been shaky, but poor defence isn’t helping
What about Bob?
It was a question that Florida Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville has been asked many times this season. Far too many times than anyone could have expected.
When the Panthers signed goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky to a seven-year, $70-million US contract, the giant question mark that has hovered around the team’s net for the past several years was supposed to be answered.
Finally, Florida had an elite goaltender. Finally, the Panthers had all the pieces in place to push them to the next level.
Except, it hasn’t exactly worked out that way. Bobrovsky hasn’t looked elite. And Florida, who has missed the playoffs in six of the past seven seasons, is once again on the outside looking in.
A lot of that is because of Bobrovsky.
As a team, the Panthers are not having any difficulty scoring goals. They rank second in the league in that department, with one forward (Jonathan Huberdeau) ranked among the top-10 in scoring and another (Aleksander Barkov) No. 17 on the list. They also have the sixthbest power play.
Keeping the puck out of their own net, however, has been a different story. That’s where Bobrovsky deserves much of the blame.
The 31-year-old struggled mightily in October and November, losing more games than he won. He was slightly better in December and January. But by the All-star break, Bobrovsky still had a save percentage that was under the .900 mark.
And so, with two months remaining in the season and the playoffs in jeopardy, the question is being asked once again.
What about Bob?
Will he be able to find his game in time for the Panthers to secure a playoff spot? Will he do for Florida what he did for Columbus at this time last year? Will he start earning his money? Quenneville is banking on it. “He’s trending in a good direction,” said the Panthers head coach. “I think when the games get deeper and the saves become more important, he seems to be in the right place at the right time to find those challenges.”
This is a new team for Bobrovsky. But this isn’t exactly a new situation. A year ago, while playing for the Blue Jackets, he also struggled in the first half of the season for a team that had largely underachieved. It wasn’t until February, when Bobrovsky went 8-3-0 and then won 10 of the final 13 games with four shutouts and just 20 goals allowed in that span, that he started playing like a two-time Vezina Trophy winner.
It was that stretch run, along with a miraculous four-game sweep of the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the playoffs, which led the Panthers into signing Bobrovsky.
When asked if the team has confidence that Bobrovsky can do it again, defenceman Aaron Ekblad did not hesitate to answer: “For sure, 100 per cent” he said. “We totally think that he’s ready to go and we’ll be there in front of him ready to battle.”
That’s the part of the equation that maybe hasn’t got much talk this year. Bobrovsky isn’t the only one responsible for what is the third-worst goals-against average in the league this season.
It’s not like the Panthers have made life easy on their goalie. A year ago, the team allowed the 10th-fewest shots. This year, the team is allowing the 10th-most. That’s a huge difference, especially for a goalie that was playing behind a stingy Columbus team that allowed fewer than 30 shots per game last season.
“He’s been great,” said defenceman Anton Stralman. “Unfortunately, maybe our defence hasn’t really given him as much credit as he deserves, because he’s out there stopping a lot of pucks and keeping us in games. Maybe it doesn’t show.”
This has been an odd year for proven goalies, with Washington’s Braden Holtby and Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers having lost their net to rookie upstarts, while everyone from Jonathan Quick and Pekka Rinne to Carey Price and Corey Crawford has struggled to find their form.
Maybe the book on beating goalies is getting shared among the top snipers. Maybe age is a factor. Or maybe — and fans in Florida have to be hoping this last part is true — the veteran goalies are simply saving their best for when it matters the most.
If so, don’t count out the Panthers just yet.