Florida Panthers: Top 3 players who must step up to beat Islanders
1. Sergei Bobrovsky
Sergei Bobrovsky will likely determine if the Florida Panthers beat the Islanders or not. When you look at the Panthers and Islanders, if you toss out the Isles season sweep, the two teams are pretty much even as far as skaters. The biggest difference is in the net.
Thomas Greiss struggled down the stretch for the Islanders, but 8 games against the Panthers, Greiss has a 5-2-1 record with a .930% save percentage. That’s before considering how incredible he was against the Panthers in 2016 (.944% save percentage). So it’s hard to imagine he won’t get the nod in net against the Panthers. Backup goalie Semyon Varlamov (8-3-1, .922% save percentage) has good numbers against them as well.
Bobrovsky, on the other hand, has struggled mightily this season. His .900% save percentage was his lowest since the 2011-12 season. The two-time Vezina Trophy winner has usually been reliable, but this season, he has been awful. That said, Bobrovsky was able to rebound from a sub-par 2019-20 season to help the Columbus Blue Jackets upset the Tampa Bay Lightning. So there is hope.
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What’s even more encouraging is Bobrovsky has had a lot of success against the Islanders in the past. In 26 games, he has a 16-10-0 record against them, posting an impressive .928% save percentage. Bobrovsky’s going to need to play like the goalie the Panthers thought they were getting when they gave him a seven-year, $10 million AAV deal.