Bobrovsky shines in playoffs again, completes Stanley Cup repeat with Panthers

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Sergei Bobrovsky stood with his back against the glass and looked up to take in the celebration going on around him at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday.

The Florida Panthers had completed their quest to repeat as Stanley Cup champions with a 5-1 victory against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, and Bobrovsky was just grateful to be in such a happy place.

"I couldn't dream any more, any bigger," the Panthers goalie said. "I'm just humble and appreciate it for the position I'm in, This stadium and everything, it's amazing."

Bobrovsky did his part to complete the repeat, making 28 saves in Game 6. Only Vasily Podkolzin's rebound goal with 4:42 remaining in the third period prevented him from posting his fourth shutout of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

He didn't care about that, though.

"It doesn't matter," Bobrovsky said. "It is what it is. We got the trophy, and that's the most important thing."

Bobrovsky started each of Florida's 23 playoff games during its run to becoming the first team to repeat as Stanley Cup champions since the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021. He went 16-7 with a 2.20 goals-against average, a .914 save percentage and three shutouts this postseason.

The 36-year-old was 4-2 with a 2.45 GAA and a .919 save percentage in the Cup Final. While the Oilers switched back and forth between Stuart Skinner (1-3, 3.97 GAA, .861 save percentage) and Calvin Pickard (1-1, 2.88 GAA, .878 save percentage) searching for answers in goal, Bobrovsky was a steady rock and calming influence for the Panthers throughout the series.

"'Bob's' Bob," Florida defenseman Seth Jones said. "He's so prepared every day. He brings his best when we need it. He was a stone wall again tonight; he should've had a shutout. Can't say enough good things about him. He's just an unbelievable teammate to be around."

Bobrovsky has started 65 consecutive playoff games for the Panthers to help them reach the Cup Final in three straight seasons. Florida lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games in 2023 before defeating Edmonton in the Cup Final each of the past two.

That kind of success is not something Bobrovsky could've imagined when he backed up Alex Lyon for Florida's first three games of the 2023 playoffs. Although Bobrovsky was a two-time winner of the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goalie with the Columbus Blue Jackets (2013, 2017), postseason success eluded him up to that point. Some questioned whether the Panthers could win the Cup with him as their No. 1 goalie.

Those doubts seem preposterous now. During his run of 65 straight playoff starts, he is 44-21 with a 2.41 GAA, a .912 save percentage and six shutouts. He's the ninth goalie in NHL history to get each win in a team's back-to-back championships.

The obvious lesson?

"Don't doubt Bob," Jones said.

The bumps Bobrovsky had to overcome on his way to lifting the Stanley Cup the past two seasons seem to have helped him appreciate the journey more, though.

"My time here in the beginning wasn't as bright," he said. "All my career, I had lots of ups and downs and probably in the beginning of my time in Florida was the lowest down I have had. But the last three years, I want to thank God for everything I have … because I am nothing and I want to dedicate this win to him. I'm blessed with my family, what I have with my parents, what they gave me, where I'm from. I'm blessed with my wife and my daughters.

"And I'm blessed with this family here, this group of guys."

After counting his blessings, Bobrovsky sounded far from satisfied. With one season remaining on the seven-year contract he signed with the Panthers on July 1, 2019, he pondered the possibility of adding a third consecutive championship next season.

No team has done that since the New York Islanders won the Cup in four straight seasons from 1980-1983.

"We've put ourselves in a pretty good spot," Bobrovsky. "There were teams that win two (in a row), but not many teams lately are doing three. We have a great group of guys. We're going to rest, reset and we're going to compete, and the next moment is going to dictate how we do."