Sergei Bobrovsky has earned the trust of the Florida Panthers, and it keeps paying off

Sergei Bobrovsky gave up five goals in Challenge against Toronto Gave up four more in Challenge Gave up four again in Match Those numbers aren t great Paul Maurice was never worried The coach of the Florida Panthers has unflappable belief in his goaltender so much so that Maurice basically lets Bobrovsky determine his own plan for practice days and off days The trust level between coach and athlete is off the charts and in Match against Toronto it was rewarded yet again Bobrovsky s second shutout of these playoffs was a - win over Toronto on Sunday night one that pulled the Panthers into a - tie in the teams Eastern Conference semifinal series Meeting is on Wednesday in Toronto We just totally take him for granted Maurice declared Which is what happens to all elite goaltenders And yes Bobrovsky is still elite Going back to the start of the playoffs no goalie has more wins saves or shutouts than Bobrovsky who backstopped Florida to the Stanley Cup Final in then to the Cup title last year and now has the Panthers in essentially a best-of-three series for a spot in this season s Eastern Conference finals The only goaltender in the last decade older than Bobrovsky he s four months shy of turning to have a playoff shutout is Mike Smith who had a pair as a -year-old with Edmonton in Bob has tons of patience in his championship Panthers defenseman Nate Schmidt mentioned Can learn a thing or two from him as well Bobrovsky was the calm in the eye of the storm in Contest which isn t uncommon for him The Panthers-Maple Leafs series is getting heated with tempers boiling over at the end of the match Sunday when Toronto s Max Domi took a shot at Florida captain Aleksander Barkov and four players two from each group got misconduct penalties with no time left on the clock But when these dustups happen Bobrovsky does nothing If there s a scrum in front of his net after the whistle blows he just skates off to the side almost like he s oblivious to what s transpiring He returns to the crease after a minimal seconds gives a nearby defenseman a pat with the blade of his goalie stick then goes back to work I ve seen it time and time again Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe mentioned He s such a leader back there He keeps us so composed such a great goalie I wouldn t want to play in front of any other goalie Such a good guy too Yeah I love Bobby That s a universal opinion in the Florida locker room The Panthers are a gang that openly professes how much the off-ice chemistry helps the on-ice product and there might not be a member more beloved in that room than Bobrovsky It s almost hard to remember that there were times that Bobrovsky s contract seven years million made him a target for criticism by Panthers fans Those days are long gone he s serenaded by Bob-by chants multiple times in every home championship now I inevitably appreciate the fans aid Bobrovsky announced They are the best They unfailingly give me a boost of capacity and advocacy us and they are a sixth player on the ice So it s fun to play at home Fun to play on the road too Battle is in Toronto and nobody has more road wins in the playoffs in current years than Bobrovsky That s just one of the multiple reasons why Maurice who isn t afraid to tinker with lines and lineups leaves his goalie alone lf he has a championship that you don t think is Sergei Bobrovsky-like I spend no time wondering if the next one s going to be like that Maurice noted He s his own little leadership committee back there He just goes in and gives us so multiple consistent looks I don t spend any time thinking about goaltending Thank God I ll just screw it up