So far in the Stanley Cup playoffs, Sergei Bobrovsky has a .935 save percentage (he led the league at .931 the year he won the Vezina, 2016-17) and a 2.21 goals against average (he led the league at 2.06 in the Vezina year).
This was not Bobrovsky’s Vezina year. He’s 34, had a .901 save percentage for the season and 3.07 goals against average, and didn’t even enter the Panthers’ net until Game 3 of the first round against Boston, relieving Alex Lyon.
If the Panthers win the Cup, it’s probably Bobrovsky or Matthew Tkachuk for the Conn Smythe Trophy, which brings up the question… how much lightning in a bottle would that be for Bobrovsky?
Let’s look at the 21st century Conn Smythe goalies…
Andrei Vasilevskiy, 2021 Lightning: .925/2.21 regular season, .937/1.90 playoffs
Jonathan Quick, 2012 Kings: .929/1.95 regular season, .946/1.41 playoffs
Tim Thomas, 2011 Bruins: .938/2.00 regular season (won Vezina), .940/1.98 playoffs
Cam Ward, 2006 Hurricanes: .882/.368 regular season (NHL debut), .920/2.14 playoffs
Jean-Sebastien Giguère, 2003 Mighty Ducks: .920/2.30 regular season, .945/1.62 playoffs (lost in Stanley Cup Final)
Patrick Roy, 2001 Avalanche: .913/2.22 regular season, .934/1.70 playoffs
We Can Pod It Out 119: Hey Jude