Former Blue Jacket Sergei Bobrovsky Won The Stanley Cup After Nearly Completing A Historic Collapse, Saving His Legacy

Former Blue Jacket Sergei Bobrovsky Won The Stanley Cup After Nearly Completing A Historic Collapse, Saving His Legacy

Sergei Bobrovsky was on the verge of doing something historic - being on the losing end of a Stanley Cup Final that saw his team blow a 3-0 series lead. 

And they didn't just blow a three-game lead, they were getting blown out in the process, and Bobrovsky did them no favors in those three games. During the three-game Cup Final losing streak, Bobrovsky had a save % of .785 while giving up FOUR goals a game. To put it quite frankly, Bob and his team weren't good. 

Going into the series-deciding game seven, people were questioning Bobrovsky's legacy. If he were to lose game seven, how would he be viewed? Everyone knows he's a good goalie, but would aiding in an epic collapse tarnish his potential hall-of-fame status? Would losing four games in the most critical of times ruin an otherwise very good career? Everyone would remember the Cup collapse for the rest of his playing career. 

So how did he do in game seven? He went out and posted a .958 save %, his second-highest of the Final behind the game-one shutout. It was also the fifth-best save % he would log in the entire playoffs. He also stopped 23 of 24 Oilers shots on the way to the win. He was good when his team needed him to be, and the defense in front of him was stellar. They gave up a breakaway goal to tie the game, but after that, it was slim pickings for the Edmonton Oilers. 

His Panthers team, being the best defensive team in the playoffs, severely limited the Oilers offense. In games that Bobrovsky played the entire game, Florida only surrendered 24 shots a game. Experts and people on social media pointed out that when his defense went, Bob went. But in the four Panther wins, the Oilers averaged 27.5 shots a game, in the three losses, Bobrovsky only faced 19 shots a game. 

Blue Jackets fans on social media call Bobrovsky the best player to ever wear Union and Blue because of this win, for different reasons, I disagree. But he is definitely now a Hall of Fame candidate in my opinion. With 396 wins, 44 shutouts, a save % of .915, a GAA of 2.59, 2 Vezinas (maybe another one this season), and now a Stanley Cup, I think it can be debated he is a potential hall-of-fame goalie. Bobrovsky is also the only goalie in history with a cap hit of over $10 million to win a Stanley Cup, and just the second player ever with a cap hit of over $10 million to win. Jack Eichel, who was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights a few seasons ago was the first. 

Sergei Bobrovsky saved his legacy last night by being the best player on the ice in game seven of arguably the biggest game in Stanley Cup Final history. His Florida Panthers were up against the entire country of Canada and stopped the freight train that was the Edmonton Oilers. 

Congrats to Sergei Bobrovsky, Kevin Stenlund, and GM Bill Zito on their first-ever Stanley Cup Victory. 

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