Matt Dumba on the Game 2 goal-robbing save: ‘I’ll bury the next one’
TAMPA — This is Lightning defenseman Matt Dumba’s 11th NHL season, so he’s been robbed before by an opposing goaltender.
But few have been like what happened to Dumba in the second period of the Lightning’s Game 2 loss to the Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday night.
Dumba had an open net trailing into the offensive zone, a cross-slot pass from Steven Stamkos gift-wrapping the Lightning’s first lead of the series onto his stick.
As the puck made its way to Dumba’s blade, Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was entirely turned away from the play, the No. 72 on the back of his jersey facing Dumba.
But as Dumba lifted a backhand shot toward the net, Bobrovsky made the save that left the crowd breathless, blindly lunging across the front of the net and stopping Dumba’s shot with his left arm.
It was the play of the series so far. The score was tied late in the second and the Lightning were pushing. Had Dumba scored, the Lightning would have taken a 3-2 lead. Instead, they lost 3-2 in overtime and are now down two games to none in the best-of-seven series entering Game 3.
Dumba replayed the save in his mind following Thursday’s morning skate at Amalie Arena and said it might not have been the best save made on him.
“Yeah, I think Freddie Andersen got me one of my first years. It was probably an even bigger cage than that,” Dumba said.
In Dumba’s second full season in the league with Minnesota, the Wild were playing an early-season game against Anaheim. Dumba has already given Minnesota a one-goal lead, and he had another Grade-A scoring opportunity on his stick with an open net in front of him.
Andersen, then the Ducks goaltender, was up in the crease after stopping an initial shot that rebounded out to Dumba below the left dot. Dumba lifted a wrister, but Andersen reached back to make a lunging save with the shaft of his stick.
Dumba’s mentality after getting robbed this time by Bobrovsky in a critical point in the game?
“It happens to the best of them,” he said.
“They’re just unfortunate, but that’s how it goes,” Dumba added. “I was watching NHL Network when I’m in the hot tub this morning and there’s the top-10 goalie saves and some guys like (Sidney) Crosby and (Jake) Guentzel get robbed. ... I’ve got to just keep grinding, keep putting myself in those positions and I’ll bury the next one.”
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