BOBROVSKY’S BRILLIANCE
Russia has hope in the pipes
TOR O N TO 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 highlightreel saves.
Blocking shots? Technically, 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 Vézina Trophy form from 2013 and arguably been the best goalie so far in the tournament.
Canada’s Carey Price, who has allowed two goals in two games and has .968 save percentage, might have better overall numbers.
But in some ways, Bobrovsky has been the better goalie because of the increased workload and also because he’s operating without a safety net.
“I feel very good,” said Bobrovsky, who battled with groin injuries for most of last season.
“Yeah, I had some tough times obviously, but I feel great right now and I feel ready mentally and physically. It helps you because you believe in your body. You know you can rely on your body and everything works in the proper way.
“It’s all about processes. You move on every day.”
The last time these teams played in the exhibition portion of the tournament, Bobrovsky was pelted with 48 shots in a 3-2 overtime loss to Canada.
At the other end of the ice, Price’s workload was so light in that game that he could have gone out for a coffee between shots.
That’s the difference between the two goalies.
Canada, which has so much offensive and defensive depth, can still win if Price allows a soft goal and is just average.
But Bobrovsky, who has stopped 91 of 96 shots in the tournament — only Europe’s Jaroslav Halak has faced more rubber — not only has to stop the pucks that his head coach expects him to stop, but he also has to make the saves that no one thinks is possible.
So far he’s done that. Bobrovsky has a 1.68 goals-against average and a .948 save percentage in three games. But now comes his greatest challenge: facing one of the most complete Canadian teams in recent memory.
“Obviously, it’s a good result that we moved past the four teams but our biggest challenge is in front of us, so we look forward to that,” said Bobrovsky.
“That’s all that matters. “It’s huge, obviously. There’s nothing to add actually. It’s a big battle.”
Indeed, the Canadians are the obvious favourites. They have scored a tournament-leading 14 goals and have allowed only three goals in three games.
They have the top-three scorers in Jonathan Toews, Matt Duchene and Sidney Crosby. The team is so deep that Joe Thornton, who was a top-five scorer last season, is playing on the fourth line.
Russia, which has Ovechkin, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Artemi Panarin, might be the only other country that can match Canada’s offensive firepower. But success will likely depend on the defensive game.
More specifically, Bobrovsky is going to have to do as his coach expects and “block shots.”
I feel great right now and I feel ready mentally and physically. It helps you because you believe in your body.