The star Russian goalkeeper is in trouble. The NHL champion has sunk to the bottom

Russian hockey player Sergei Bobrovsky is having a terrible season, as is the rest of Florida. The award-winning goalkeeper concedes goals in large numbers, showing terrifying statistics.

Great start – mediocre continuation

Florida entered this season as the winner of the last two Stanley Cups. The team’s composition did not undergo major changes, so the fans’ hopes of fighting for the third trophy in a row looked well founded. The great start to the regular season also contributed to this.

The Panthers started with three wins in a row. Bobrovsky had a hand in each one. The two-time Vezina Trophy winner even became the third star of the opening week, stopping 92.5% of shots on target.

— The team structure has already been built. It’s great when there is a rhythm to the game. “Everything is fine,” Bobrovsky said after that.

But the championship fuse was only enough for three games. This was followed by a series of four unsuccessful matches, although Sergei was involved in only two of them. Twice he watched the team fail from the bench.

After an unsuccessful series, Florida began to alternate victories and defeats. Bobrovsky regularly takes a place in goal, but no longer looks like an insurmountable obstacle for opponents. By the away game against Anaheim, Sergei’s percentage of saved shots dropped to 89.9%.

Sergei Bobrovsky / Photo: © Jaylynn Nash / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

There’s nowhere to fall lower

Until the middle of the second period, it seemed that Florida was able to take two points from California; the champions were even in the lead with a score of 3:2. But then something unimaginable happened. The guests had two terrible periods at the end of the second and third periods, conceding a total of five goals. As a result, the Panthers lost – 3:7.

All seven missed goals were Bobrovsky’s loss. The coaching staff did not change Sergei to another goalkeeper. Because of this, the average save percentage this season has dropped to a terrible 88.3%. If our goalkeeper continues to perform at the same level, this season could become the worst of his career. So far, the anti-record is 89.9% and was shown in the 2011/12 season.

However, it is incorrect to place all responsibility for Florida’s failures on Bobrovsky. Even in the match with Anaheim, he did not make unacceptable mistakes, although in some episodes he could save his teammates. The main complaints should be leveled at the Panthers’ defense, which often leaves its goalkeeper at the mercy of the opponents.

Florida is sorely missing the injured Alexander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and Dmitry Kulikov, who performed a large amount of defensive work last season. Bobrovsky has had slumps before, but in previous seasons he had a good replacement. Spencer Knight, Anthony Stolars and Vitek Vanecek consistently shot above 90%. Now Sergei is only occasionally replaced by Daniil Tarasov, who also cannot yet reach this grandmaster mark.

All of these problems have led to Florida now being in last place in the Eastern Conference. The density of teams is still high, and only two points separate the Panthers from the playoff zone. But if this continues, then the Florida club will have to forget about defending the title.