Dave Hyde: How Sergei Bobrovsky is the calmest cat of them all for Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final

LAS VEGAS — The magic trick, the big rabbit out of the hat, is how he remains calm amid the calamity. Tranquil Bob, he’s called. Even Steven. And it’s not just on the ice, where Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky returns for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday night.

“It’s everywhere,’’ he says.

Everywhere?

“Everywhere in my life, I want to be calm,’’ he says.

Does he get angry driving in traffic?

“No, never,’’ he says.

Stressed being late for an appointment?

“No, not at all,’’ he says. “You take all of yourself on the ice, and the idea is to collect emotion and energy for that, not to lose it.”

Maybe that’s how he’s done it. Maybe that explains how Bobrovsky turned a substandard regular season into a near-historic playoff run thus far: An 11-1 record. A 6-0 overtime record. A .954 save percentage.

At 34, Bobrovsky wasn’t considered starting-worthy on an eighth-seeded team at the start of the playoffs. The big question was if the Panthers would buy out his $72 million contract and he’d finish hockey in his native Russia.

Now the big question is if whether he or teammate Matthew Tkachuk is the front-runner for the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs’ Most Valuable Player if the Panthers win. It’s a toss-up to hockey experts. Bobrovsky shrugs at that — and also about winning the Stanley Cup.

“Now is not the time to think of the Cup,’’ he said at the NHL’s media day Friday after the Panthers’ practice in T-Mobile Arena. “My mind is really short now, my thoughts only on Game 1.”

Teammates talk of a unique work ethic exemplified after the Game 5 win in Toronto to close out that series. The other players got on the team bus back to the hotel. Bobrovsky stayed at the arena to finish his post-game workout. He walked back to the hotel.

“I was like, ‘This guy’s insane,’” teammate Nick Cousins said.

Then there’s the mental side of his game the larger team doesn’t know. Can’t know. As Bobrovsky says, “There’s only one or two others on the team who really understand everything that goes into that.”

Alex Lyon, the Panthers’ backup goalie, is one. Ask him about Bobrovsky’s rare run.

“Everyone wants a simple answer, but it’s a culmination of so many things,’’ he says. “How a team’s playing. How your body’s feeling. Where your game’s at, what’s going on at home, what’s happening in your personal life — a million different things.

“If you want to truly be the best possible version of yourself as a goalie, it’s a 365-day, seven-day-a-week, 24-hours-a-day job. It’s not just strapping on the gear, warming up and playing.

“It’s, ‘How am I moving through my life?’ Moving slowly. Being patient. Staying calm in stressful situations. If you’re driving and get New York road rage going, it’s going to impact your goalie game. You’re constantly training your game to be more calm, more aware, in pressurized situations.”

Lyon helped get the Panthers in the playoffs with surprisingly stellar play, then started the opening series against Boston. Bobrovsky came on in Game 3. He’s carried the Panthers to three straight playoff-series wins.

His analytics confirm he’s the hottest goalie these playoffs. He has a 19.7 goals saved above expected, according moneypuck.com. He has a 7.18 high-danger goals saved above average according to naturalstattrick.com.

Consider this, too: If Tkachuk doesn’t score four winning goals in these playoffs, maybe another Panther does, as has happened. But who stops the pucks to allow others to score the winners?

Coach Paul Maurice says he’s not worried about the layoff and Bobrovsky. He talked of the routine of Bobrovsky. It’s a complicated one of stretching and mental work and a timed exit from the locker room depending on the distance to the ice to reach it at the exactly allotted time.

“These aren’t big things, just routines I’ve developed,” he said.

He sat out five weeks between injury and Lyon’s stellar play. His NHL future was in question. He then began a stretch like few in hockey history these last 12 games.

“It’s a dream come true being here,’’ he said.

The magic, he knows, is thinking that and not thinking about that at all.