Panthers star goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has ‘a plan’ to stay ready while awaiting next round, and reinforcement is arriving
FORT LAUDERDALE — Sergei Bobrovsky has a plan.
Although the Panthers will have to wait until Monday to play either Boston or Toronto in the opener of the second round of the playoffs, Florida coach Paul Maurice is not concerned about whether star goaltender Bobrovsky will be rusty.
“Sergei’s got a plan for just about everything,” Maurice said. “He’s got a certain number of days he likes to stack together, and then he can double it. … The guys who don’t have a defined plan for themselves, they have a harder time with more time off. They just want to play every second day, and it’s all about rhythm.”
Regardless of whether the Panthers play the Bruins or the Maple Leafs in Round 2, they will need Bobrovsky to keep his stellar form.
Outside of one poor game in which he surrendered six goals to Tampa, Bobrovsky has a goals against average of about 1.58 in the Panthers’ four postseason wins. He had a .922 save percentage in those games. He bounced back from that poor Game 4 and allowed just one goal in a Game 5 win.
The Panthers did call up Spencer Knight to be a third goalie after he spent the whole season with Florida’s AHL affiliate, which has allowed Bobrovsky to get some rest in practice.
“He knows when to push on certain drills and be really dialed in,” Maurice said. “The advantage of having three goalies is he can pull out of certain drills when he’s had enough. He’s a veteran guy. He doesn’t need a lot of help with what he should be doing.”
But the Panthers’ starting goalie offers more to the team than just stellar saves and solid performances. He sets the tone for his fellow goaltenders and the rest of the team.
“I think over the course of the years, that’s a veteran player’s impact on younger players — even though Anthony (Stolarz) is not — but these guys will learn more from the players they sit beside than from the coaches, especially with a veteran guy like Sergei,” Maurice said. “So they will all pick up little things from him. He’s tried everything. He’s been in the league so (long), he’s played on teams that were strong. He’s been on weak teams. He’s experienced the spectrum of things a goaltender can go through.”
Stolarz, who played 27 games this season as the Panthers’ No. 2 goalie, complimented Bobrovsky’s communication skills and his hard work.
“He’s just a great person,” Stolarz said. “I think that’s one of the special traits about Bobby is that he’s always upbeat, he’s always in a good mood. He’s very open with us. He’s always talking, communicating, laughing, cracking jokes. You can obviously see how hard he works on and off the ice, and obviously, you can see the success.”
Bobrovsky’s influence goes beyond the other goaltenders. The entire team follows his example.
“He’s the same guy all the time, no matter what,” defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. “His preparation is incredible. I’ve said it a million times. Everything he does off the ice, he’s a true role model and a leader on this team. We follow Bob onto the ice and off the ice.”
Bennett skating again
Maurice did not offer much of an update on center Sam Bennett’s injury following Friday’s practice, but he did confirm that the veteran skated before the rest of the team practiced.
“Before we let (the media) in with your cameras,” Maurice said.
Bennett missed Florida’s last three games due to a hand or wrist injury he suffered when a Brandon Montour shot hit him.
Bennett was sixth on the team with 41 points during the regular season, scoring 20 goals and notching 21 assists. He has one goal and one assist in the playoffs.
