Sergey Bobrovsky reduced Carolina to zero – Kommersant
[ad_1]
The best performance so far by Russian goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky in the current Stanley Cup season came in the third match of the semifinal series of his Florida Panthers club against the Carolina Hurricanes. In it, Bobrovsky, who gained a phenomenal form, repelled all 32 shots that hit the target of his goal, and ensured his team a home victory – 1:0. Florida, thanks to her, leads the series with a score of 3: 0 and is one step away from reaching the final.
This match became another reason for all the North American media resources covering it to recall the details of the biography of Sergei Bobrovsky. He will soon turn 35 years old, age, without any reservations, veteran. In his youth, Bobrovsky twice took the prize for the best goalkeeper in the NHL, but lately he seems to have lost a lot. He lost so much that even the status of the main goalkeeper of Florida was not so long ago in question
And suddenly, in the playoffs, some incredible renaissance of Bobrovsky happened.
Actually, even before the third match of the series with Carolina, he played amazingly. But his next speech turned at the peak of this amazing takeoff.
It was the 64th Stanley Cup meeting in the career of Sergei Bobrovsky and the 58th in which he stood at the gate from the very beginning. But here’s what’s strange: so far he has not been able to play for zero. Even in the confrontation with Carolina, Bobrovsky, although he looked amazingly good, still in the first two matches, which taxied by extra time, conceded goals. In total, there were only three of them, but they were. And here – a dry game, and even without the help of circumstances.
On the contrary, the circumstances were rather against Sergei Bobrovsky. In this case, it is not very correct to focus on the total number of shots that hit the target of his goal. 32 hits is a decent load, but formally not extreme. Much more important is the quality of these shots.
Strictly speaking, “Carolina” in the third match played quite well, even more effectively, more accurately than in the previous two. And the injury that the center forward of Florida, Alexander Barkov, the pivotal player of the hosts, received in the starting period, only made her life easier. And moments – one hundred percent or almost one hundred percent – she created so many that would be more than enough for two or even three meetings.
A couple of times, “Florida” was lucky, and the puck was stopped by the gate frame. But in the vast majority of situations, it was Bobrovsky who killed the chances of the guests.
The main highlights of the match were his three saves. In the first period, he handled a one-on-one run by Stefan Nosen, deftly playing a trap. In the second and third, he deflected point blank shots, probably from Seth Jarvis and Martin Nechas. But in reality, many more Carolina players suffered from Bobrovsky, who missed the right opportunities.
But Florida still scored its only goal against Frederik Andersen. In the middle of the second period, she earned the majority, and Sam Reinhart sent the puck into the net, soon forcing Carolina coach Rod Brindamore to state the obvious: “It’s hard to live with it, because we played well.” Brindamore honestly admitted that he did not even understand in what aspects he could still add.
Meanwhile, the score in this confrontation was already 3:0 in favor of the team of Sergei Bobrovsky. This means Florida needs one more win to qualify for the Finals.
At the same time, statistics draw terrible prospects for salvation for Carolina. This marks the 205th time in NHL history that a team has won three consecutive games in a series since it began. And only in four – the losing club managed to get out and go further.
The third match of another semi-final took place late at night Moscow time. In it, the Dallas Stars hosted the Vegas Golden Knights, who led 2-0.
[ad_2]
Source link