When the Florida Panthers signed goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky to a seven-year, $70 million contract, they thought they were getting someone who could take them to the next level and supply the kind of goaltending that Roberto Luongo did for several seasons.
Thus far, Bobrovsky, 34, has yet to be truly consistent for the Panthers. Here is a look at his statistics since joining the Panthers:
- 2019-20: 23-19-0-6 with a 3.23 goals-against average, a .900 save percentage, and one shutout
- 2020-21: 19-8-0-6 with a 2.91 goals-against average, a .906 save percentage, and no shutouts
- 2021-22: 39-7-0-3 with a 2.67 goals-against average, a .913 save percentage, and three shutouts
His numbers also have not been good this season. As of this writing (Tuesday, February 14), Bobrovsky is 15-14-0-2 with a 3.05 goals-against average, a .905 save percentage, and one shutout.
Bobrovsky also has not been great in the Stanley Cup playoffs since joining the club. Here is a look at his playoff numbers since becoming a Panther:
- 2019-20: 1-3 with a 3.07 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage
- 2020-21: 1-2 with a 5.33 goals-against average and a .841 save percentage
- 2021-22: 4-6 with a 2.70 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage
As you can tell, these numbers certainly do not match what the Panthers are paying Bobrovsky to do. There are several reasons why he has not been able to be consistent since joining the Panthers.
For starters, he has been allowing more soft goals than we are used to seeing from him. Pucks seem to be going through him, he is giving up bad rebounds, and he is not putting himself in an excellent position to stop second and third opportunities, something he was able to do regularly with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Secondly, the Panthers play an offensive system of hockey. They are second in the league in goals scored and tend to take a lot of chances on offense.
Because the team plays this way, they often leave Bobrovsky out to dry. The Panthers are 27th in the league in goals allowed.
Yes, Bobrovsky needs to do a better job of coming up with the big save. At the same time, his teammates need to do a better job of protecting him.
Lastly, he just has not been able to get on a roll. He will have stretches of good to great play, followed by periods of poor play between the pipes. Things just have not been steady for him in a Panthers uniform.
With all that said, it looks like Bobrovsky is trying to do everything he can to not only right his ship but also help try and propel the Panthers into the postseason. In his last 13 starts, Bobrovsky is 8-3-1 with a .919 save percentage.
He has especially been terrific in his last four starts. He stopped 137 of 144 shots and has won three of the four games.
Bobrovsky was especially good in his team’s 2-1 shootout win over the Minnesota Wild on Monday, February 13. He stopped 27 of 28 shots in that game and made two big saves in the shootout.
The Panthers currently sit just one point out of the second wild-card spot, which the Pittsburgh Penguins are currently holding. If they want to get into the postseason, Bobrovsky will need to continue to play great and find the game that made him a two-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender.
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