Bobrovsky has surrendered eight goals in less than two games against Vegas
Goaltending has played a massive part in the Florida Panthers reaching the Stanley Cup Final.
First, it was the late-season performance of veteran Alex Lyon that helped Florida qualify the postseason in the first place.
Lyon won six straight starts, including four on the road, and used a 6-1-1 stretch to propel the Panthers into the playoffs.
During his winning streak, Lyon stopped 194 of 203 shots on goal, several of which were spectacular, sliding side-to-side saves.
His lateral movement was a thing of beauty to behold.
Once the playoffs began, though, Sergei Bobrovsky stepped back into the net, reclaiming the starting job four games into the Boston series.
Bob's play was lights out as Florida advanced through the East.
Entering the Stanley Cup Final, Bobrovsky was 11-2 with a 2.21 goals against average and .935 save percentage.
He was the favorite to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.
But now, things have changed.
Maybe it was the ten days between games.
Maybe it was the advice of Vegas' goaltending coach (and former Panthers goalie) Sean Burke for his team to shoot from further out instead of in tight, where Bob had been stellar.
Maybe it was just Bobrovsky coming back down to earth.
Whatever it was, Bob and the Panthers now find themselves in an 0-2 hole in the Stanley Cup Final after being scored on 12 times during the first two games in Vegas.
Bobrovsky, who started both games, gave up eight goals on 46 shots in a little more than four periods of hockey (86:56 for those interested in the details) being being pulled in Game 2.
There's no need to calculate his save percentage or goals against average during the Final.
Just know it's really bad, and then we can move on.
While Bobrovsky hasn’t played at the level we saw during the past couple series, what has happened during the Final is not solely on his shoulders.
The Panthers play in front of their goaltender has been a big part of their success over the past month.
During the Final, it’s been their downfall.
Vegas seems to be exploiting a weakness in Florida’s defending, utilizing spacing in the offensive zone to get traffic between Bobrovsky and the puck.
That’s when it’s the job of the defenders to get in front of those pucks and keep them from getting through to the net.
"We've got to block, we've got to get in front of those shots," said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “We could be a little better in front of our goaltender, he’s been unbelievable for us. I got him out to keep him rested.”
There are two days off between games as the series will now shift from Vegas to South Florida.
Game 3 will be an absolute must-win if the Panthers are going to realistically contend for the Stanley Cup.
Though Maurice wouldn’t say after Game 2, expect to see Bobrovsky back in goal when Florida skates onto its home ice on Thursday.
“I’ll sweat about that one for the next two days,” he said.
Both Bob and the Panthers have got to be hoping that what happened in Vegas stays in Vegas because they're not going to fight back in this series with average goaltending and lackluster defense in front of said goaltender.
“We want to help Bob,” said Panthers forward Anton Lundell. “He’s been our best player and a huge part of our team.”
Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final will be Thursday night at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise.
Before now, the Panthers had fallen behind 0-2 a total of five times in franchise history and lost each and every one of those series, including in each of the past three seasons.
If Florida is going to climb out of this hole, Bobrovsky will need to be back at his very best.
“We’re always going to trust him,” Lundell said. “But we need to help him more.”