Sergei Bobrovsky has made a habit of stealing games for the Columbus Blue Jackets over the years. His teammates stole one back for him over the weekend.
Saturday night in Minnesota was an anomaly for the Blue Jackets. In years past, when Bobrovsky’s been on fire, he’s either outright stolen games or at least kept them competitive when the offense isn’t there. Saturday, that script flipped. Bobrovsky played a very un-Bobrovsky-like game, giving up four goals on just 22 shots, but coming away with the win anyways.
Inject Artemi Panarin's 3-on-3 shifts into our veins.
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) October 15, 2017
This deft dance led to Alexander Wennberg's OT winner. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/vomAXAVzLw
That simply did not happen last season. In games where the Bob let in four or more goals, Columbus posted an abysmal 1-8-1 record. Change the criteria to “games with a save percentage under .900” and you get a bit bigger of a sample size, but similar results, as Bob’s poor performances led to a 3-10-1 record.
We’ve seen how tough the Jackets are to beat when Bobrovsky is on his game, especially in the early parts of this season. Opening night was a triumph for the team as a whole, with Bob pitching a shutout and the offense lighting up the hapless Islanders. The offense went cold after that, but still won when Bobrovsky was in net, as he stopped 74 of 76 shots in his next two games.
During that span, Bob looked unbeatable, with a .981 save percentage and a 0.67 goals against average. He certainly looked beatable against Minnesota, but even after a bad performance, his season line stills sits at 4-0-0 with an incredible .952 save percentage and a 1.48 goals against average.
Bob is keeping the Blue Jackets in this one. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/NWHbCygVPK
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) October 14, 2017
It’s a long season, and every goalie has a few bad nights. Bobrovsky isn’t immune to them, neither are Carey Price and Braden Holtby. With the top line – led by a game-breaking talent in Artemi Panarin – finally starting to break through, you may see Bob steal fewer games this season. The goals will come.
Of course, this is Sergei Bobrovsky we're talking about. He'll still steal games this year. He just may not to steal as many.
