The time of the playoffs is always the moment of truth, the moment in the history of individuals. This season, the magnificent Sergei Bobrovsky has become such a person. He did not shine in the regular season, and the Stanley Cup, where his “Florida Panthers” wandered with great difficulty and at the very last moment, did start as a backup goaltender. Only when the Panthers were on the verge of an early relegation in the series with the Boston Bruins, Bobrovsky returned to his rightful place and began to write history. For many years, the famous Russian goaltender was called a non-Cup player, and now he is one step away from the first Stanley Cup Final in his rich career. «to the desired goal. And it is Sergei Bobrovsky who is the main character of this «Florida». Today's game is proof of that.
32 out of 32 shots on target were saved by the Russian Panthers goalkeeper. For the first time in his career, he scored a shutout in the playoffs of the National Hockey League. Now Bob has entered the elite club of Russians who have had at least one clean sheet in the battle for the Stanley Cup. The record holders are Andrey Vasilevsky and Evgeny Nabokov, who completed 7 shutouts each. They are followed by Nikolai Khabibulin (6), Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Bryzgalov (both with 4), as well as Anton Khudobin (1). And from now on — Sergei Bobrovsky.
«Stone Wall» — this is how Bobrovsky is now called in North America. We see the Russian in the same way.
“Carolina”, which was in a very unenviable position, throughout the match at Sunrise looked more powerful, active and more attractive than “Florida” in terms of playing in attack. This was especially noticeable against the background of the absence of the “Panthers” of their leader Alexander Barkov – the Russian Finn was injured at the beginning of the meeting and ended the game ahead of schedule. And this is not surprising, because the «Hurricanes» Rod Brindamore are known for their aggressive offensive system. But in every season, the Hurricanes lack something at the most crucial moment. Now this «something» is at least in the implementation and completion. Perhaps the shortage in the person of Andrey Svechnikov and Max Pacioretti, who miss this playoff due to injuries, is affecting. But whether their absence is the cause of the problems of “Carolina” in the final stage of attacks, no one can say for sure. their any parts of the body.
This is especially experienced by the main striker, “Carolina” Sebastian Aho. Finnish striker for the entire series against the “Panthers” did not score a single puck. Today he had a lot of amazing chances for a goal, but to no avail.
Bobrovsky is so good that he manages to make not only effective saves that bring the team victories, but also spectacular ones. Watching the game of the Russian goalkeeper is a pleasure.
Bobrovsky's teammates, feeling such a powerful force behind their backs, are simply obliged to justify the efforts of the goalkeeper. Today they did it again. One goal in the implementation of the majority in the second period was enough for the Panthers to win a third victory in the Eastern Conference Finals series and be one step away from the main series of the entire season.
And it is noteworthy that it is his teammates that Bobrovsky thanks first
«It is very difficult to achieve such a result in this league. I am grateful for the opportunity to achieve this together with my teammates. It's fantastic. We have a very powerful, incredible team,» Bobrovsky said after today's match.
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