Lyon was great for Florida down the stretch but Bobrovsky took his game to another level during the playoffs

The arrival of Sergei Bobrovsky in South Florida was met with mostly positivity. 

It was a time where the Florida Panthers were looking for stability in goal, and signing Bobrovsky to a seven-year deal worth $70 million seemed in the eyes of many as the right move. 

Bobrovsky was a two-time Vezina Trophy winner and had just led his former team, the Columbus Blue Jackets, to a shocking four-game sweep of the Presidents' Trophy-winning Tampa Bay Lightning. 

It appeared the Panthers were bringing in one of the league's best goaltenders who was playing at the top of his game. 

Fast forward four seasons and it was another goaltender, Alex Lyon, carrying Florida into the playoffs. 

But, as the movie asks, What About Bob?

In a series of posts, THN Florida is going over some of the myths that the Florida Panthers disproved (aka Mythbusters) during last season, and what myths the Panthers could bust this upcoming season.

The first two myths have touched on Matthew Tkachuk and Paul Maurice. 

Myth No. 3: Sergei Bobrovsky is not the same as he was in Columbus, and it’s a mistake to replace Alex Lyon, who got Florida into the playoffs

At this point, with three years left on his 7-year, $70 million contract, it is what it is. Sergei Bobrovsky is the number one goaltender. Although Dale Tallon is not in the mix anymore, the intention when Bobrovsky was first signed to that contract with a $10 million average annual value (AAV) was the hope to one day bring a Stanley Cup Championship to South Florida.

Fast forward to 2022-23, when goaltender Spencer Knight was in the mix for another year, and prior to the season, current Panthers General Manager Bill Zito signed Knight to a 3-year, $13.5 million contract that expires at the same time as Bobrovsky’s deal.

Zito also signed an experienced third goaltender in Alex Lyon, who came off winning the Calder Cup with the Chicago Wolves in the American Hockey League the season prior.

Some saw the goaltending depth of the Panthers and may have thought that they have the best goaltending department in the league. Others might look at the money committed to both Knight and Bobrovsky and could look at it as the worst situation in the league. It all depends on who you ask.

It’s Nov. 30, the starts are split down the middle at 50-50 between Bobrovsky and Knight 24 games into the regular season.

Bobrovsky struggled out of the gate and Knight led the Panthers to two more wins during that span.

From Dec. 1 on, Bobrovsky started to turn it around prior to sustaining a lower body injury on Jan. 19 2:01 into a 6-2 road victory over the Montreal Canadiens.

Knight was placed on Injured Reserve on Jan. 10 so Lyon came in and finished that game in Montreal. He then played in every game prior to the NHL All-Star Break.

Bobrovsky did return post break and looked like a better version of himself, winning 12 of his last 20 starts, but his start against the Ottawa Senators on March 27, a game in which the Panthers gave up three shorthanded goals, would be his last regular season start.

Prior to Florida's road game against the Toronto Maple Leafs a couple nights later, it was reported that Bobrovsky was dealing with a non-COVID illness.

The Panthers were also in the middle of a 4-game losing streak as well, and Spencer Knight was not with the team due to being in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, so it was up to Lyon to finish things off.

After going 6-1-1 in the last eight games of the season and getting Florida the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, it was Lyon’s crease for the time being.

Though Lyon got the Panthers win in Game 2 of round one against Boston, Florida fell behind 3-0 in Game 3 on a David Pastrnak breakaway, beating Lyon far side while on the top of his crease.

Bobrovsky came on in relief and finished the final 11:28 of the game.

The conversation between Games 3 and 4 was “Who should start in goal, the guy who got you here or the $10 million man?” The Panthers kept it close to the vest and we did not know until we saw Bobrovsky leading the team out for warmups prior to Game 4.

A reminder that defenseman Aaron Ekblad and forward Anthony Duclair did not suit up for that game and the Panthers were down 2-1 heading into the 3rd period. The wheels fell off for the Panthers in the final 12 minutes of the game and the Bruins claimed both road games in Sunrise, taking a 3-1 series lead back to Boston.

The Panthers did not want to go through what they did in 2021, consistently making goalie changes, so if Maurice (although he was not the coach in 2021) was going to make the switch, he was going to finish the series with his $10 million man.

What did Bobrovsky and the Panthers do from Game 5 on? He came up with one of the best saves in the postseason, stopping Bruins star forward Brad Marchand on a breakaway with less than five seconds left in regulation to send Game 5 into overtime, where Matthew Tkachuk buried a game winner off a mistake from Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark while trying to clear the puck from the trapezoid. The Panthers ended up coming back and winning that series in 7.

Once Florida escaped round one, they began to win low scoring games in rounds two and three against Toronto and Carolina. Bobrovsky did not allow goals to Maple Leafs superstars John Tavares and Auston Matthews in the second round, which they won in five games. In the Carolina series, Bobrovsky continued to be locked in. His big stop in Game 1 came with about seven minutes left in regulation when he stymied Martin Necas on a breakaway to keep the score tied at two.

Bobrovsky did not give up a single goal at 5-on-5 during Game 1, stopping all 55 as Panthers ended up winning that game with 13 second left in the fourth overtime thanks to Tkachuk's game winner.

The Panthers ended up sweeping Carolina to clinch their first trip to the Stanley Cup Final since 1996.

That Eastern Conference Final also included a 1-0 shutout in Game 3 where Carolina almost doubled the amount of shots that Florida had, but Bobrosvky stood tall between the pipes.

Bobrovsky got his fair share of rest prior to the playoffs beginning while recovering from his non-COVID Illness, but once the Panthers got through the biggest upset in NHL history, he and the Cats caught lightning in a bottle and ran with it.

Bobrovsky was even in the Conn Smythe Conversation after the Panthers won the Prince of Wales Trophy, and there would have been conversation of Hall of Fame even had the Panthers won the Cup and Bobrovsky won the Conn Smythe.

Although the Panthers lost in five games in the Stanley Cup Final to the Vegas Golden Knights, the run was one to remember, and Bobrovsky was a big part of it.

It was to the point where “Bobby” chants were heard inside FLA Live Arena throughout the run, so it's really safe to say that starting Bobrovsky in Game 4 against the Bruins ended up being the right decision after all by Maurice. 

Consider this myth busted.