Sergei Bobrovsky will make his second consecutive start tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers [http://thn.com/philadelphia], putting Daniil Tarasov's Florida Panthers debut on hold. Bobrovsky is certainly the No.1 goaltender in Sunrise, but Tarasov was acquired to give Bobrovsky rest. The Panthers' now two-time Cup champion was always going to start at least two of the first three games, as the Panthers don't play a back-to-back until Oct. 15 and 16. He could start the first three games, but the Panthers may be inclined to rest their 37-year-old netminder to give him rest after three long and gruelling seasons [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/players/final-year-of-his-contract-and-36-years-old-panthers-sergei-bobrovsky-isn-t-worried-and-feels-great]. Although the 2024-25 campaign wasn't great for Tarasov, he's shown previously, like he did in 2023-24, that he can be a reliable goaltender. He posted a .908 save percentage and a 3.18 goals against average on a poor Columbus Blue Jackets [http://thn.com/columbus] team. Bobrovsky has played in over 60 percent of the games in all but one season with the Panthers. The one season he didn't was the shortened Covid season, where he played 55 percent of the games. Bobrovsky is a traditional workhorse, a goaltender who demands the bulk of the starts, but now in the later stages of his career, fatigue becomes a bigger threat, and it's why Tarasov was brought in. Tonight could have been an excellent opportunity for Tarasov to get his feet wet with the Panthers against a what is expected to be a relatively weak Flyers squad. After tonight's contest, the Panthers take on the Ottawa Senators [http://thn.com/ottawa] on Saturday night, a team that made the playoffs last year as a wild-card team and wants to push for more. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. EST at Amerant Bank Arena.
