“Incredibly emotionally consistent,” is how Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice described goalie Sergei Bobrovsky a little over a week ago. Maurice explained that the Panthers’ goaltender doesn’t change things up, whether he wins big or loses by a massive margin. And consistency? That’s exactly what the 36-year-old showcased with two lightning-fast (pun intended) saves that stunned the Tampa Bay supporters inside Amalie Arena. So what happened?

With the Panthers leading the series 3-1, Tampa Bay showed up to play like the match was do-or-die. They pushed hard, and within five minutes of the second period, the score was already 3-2. That’s when Brayden Point broke through the Panthers’ defense with intentions to equalize. In a move that would’ve completely confused lesser goalies, Point passed to Chernak at the last moment, who shot a one-timer at point-blank range, only for Bobrosvsky to save the shot. Yet, that wasn’t the end of it.

Despite saving the shot, Sergei Bobrovsky could not get hold of the puck, which rebounded to Gage Goncalves, who immediately took another shot. And yet somehow, the goalie stretched his left arm out to make a second save. What’s more? The netminder was in a full split when he saved the second shot to keep Florida in the lead. The Tampa Bay fans, who were nearly ready to celebrate, were stunned into silence.

And while the Bolts did manage to equalize around the 10-minute mark of the second period, Florida took back the lead, and Bobrovsky didn’t let in another goal throughout the match. Although the goalie conceded three goals, he skated away with a respectable .896 SV% after saving 26 shots. Then again, this isn’t the first time the Panthers’ goalie has put up a clutch performance.

Remember last year’s final series against the Edmonton Oilers? Sergei Bobrovsky played a crucial role in helping Florida lift the Stanley Cup last year. Bobrovsky had a similarly epic performance against the Oilers in Game three, where he made some of the biggest saves of the match, stopping 32 shots to give the Panthers their 4-3 win. This year, he’s coming in equally hot.

Sergei Bobrovsky’s major milestone ahead of the NHL playoffs

Alex Ovechkin’s Gr8 Chase was the only blip on many NHL fans’ radars when it came to players reaching major milestones leading to the playoffs. Meanwhile, the 36-year-old NHL goaltender quietly moved into an elite club of NHL goalies on March 13. Bobrovsky stopped 23 shots, helping the Cats register a win against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Yet, that game wasn’t an ordinary regular-season outing for the netminder.

The game marked the 424th win of Sergei Bobrovsky’s career. What’s more? The win helped the hockey veteran become the 10th most successful goaltender in NHL history. The historic milestone saw the Russian netminder knock the legendary Tony Esposito off the top 10 winningest goaltenders list. If this wasn’t impressive enough, another stat makes it even more monumental.

Among all the top 10 goalies with the most wins, Bobrovsky has the least time on ice compared to everyone else. Yes, that included former #10, the Chicago Black Hawks’ Tony Esposito. In fact, the Panthers’ goaltender is just 13 wins short of dethroning Jacques Plante as #9 on the list. Had the playoff stats not been counted separately, he would’ve already narrowed that gap down to 9 after just one loss in round 1. With 49,513:08 minutes on the ice, Plante has spent quite a lot more time than Bobrovsky’s 43,525:0.

So it’s no wonder Sergei Bobrovsky is already putting up clutch performances for the Panthers in round one. And as the Florida Panthers now advance to the second round, Bobrovsky will be the man to beat with a 2024-25 regular season SV% of .914. Yet, what did you think of the NHL star’s epic back-to-back saves? Tell us in the comments.