Fort Lauderdale, Florida. – When the blow came, Sergei Bobrovsky was ready. No matter what had happened in match 1 or match 2, nor what happened in the first period or the playoffs of the Stanley Cup last season. It was time.
Bobrovsky was ready.
While William Nylander took the pass just above the blue line, with only Gustav who leaving the races to catch up, while he was lighting the shooting on Bobrovsky near the top of the right circle, Bobrovsky faced him. Just above the fold, he embodied his body towards Nylander, his right cushion pushing the washer.
It was 8:46 am in overtime in match 3, a match that Florida’s panthers needed desperately to avoid a 3-0 hole in their second round series of the eastern conference of 7 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, a time when they needed everyone to be their best – no one more than Bobrovsky.
And it was.
It was all they needed, saving the chances of time break in overtime from Nylander and Matthew Knies, allowing the Panthers to find their own chance, that Brad Marchand converted at 3:27 pm to bring the series to a 2-1 deficit for the panthers before play 4 to bring Bank Arena on Sunday (7:30 pm and; Max, TBS, SN, SN, SN, SN VAT, CBC).
“Huge,” said striker Sam Reinhart. “This is what he does and that is what he did at that time of the year countless times, again and again. We have all the confidence in the world in him.”
Before match 3, Bobrovsky had granted nine goals in two games after authorizing only 11 in five against the Lightning of Tampa Bay in the first round. He granted four others in match 3, although this included the goal of the third period which rebounded on defender Seth Jones and ultimately in overtime.
“That’s what it is,” said Bobrovsky. “You control what you can control. Sometimes they happen like that, sometimes they happen too.”
But once they arrived, once they have reached overtime, Bobrovsky shone – before, as usual, deviating praise.
“It’s a huge game for us, of course,” said Bobrovsky. “You just try to stay with the moment.”
It was a competence he learned, he perfected, he developed, during the 15 years he played in the NHL, years which included a career which was far from a straight line. This is a mandate that has experienced bad matches and bad years, won the Vezina trophy as the best goal goal of the game – twice – and had questions about her ability to win when she was for.
Questions that continued to appear even last season, when he appeared to a ticket for the Conn Smythe trophy as the MVP of the playoffs – until he did not have it.
But as a player who has now taken his team to the Stanley Cup final twice, won once, it would seem clear that as quickly as Bobrovsky can dive, can lose his game, he can find him.
