Sergei Bobrovsky Gets First Crack at 400th Career Win on Tuesday
With his next win, Sergei Bobrovsky would become the 14th goalie and first Russian in NHL history to win 400 games. He gets the start for Florida against Minnesota tonight at 6:30 p.m.
FORT LAUDERDALE — Sergei Bobrovsky will have his first crack at history when the Florida Panthers take on the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.
With his next win Bobrovsky will become just the 14th player and the first Russian to earn 400 wins in the NHL.
It would be just another milestone to put on Bobrovsky’s long, Hall of Fame-caliber resumè.
“He’s amazing and he works so hard,” Matthew Tkachuk said. “He’s a true leader in his preparation, how he takes care of himself, just being a pro. He’s the best at it, and just seeing him over the last few years in person, day after day after day, it’s incredible. He’s somebody that I can learn a lot from, and I love talking to him and learning new things about what he’s done and how it can maybe help me out.”
Last year, Bobrovsky added a Stanley Cup to a mile-long list of accomplishments including two Vezina Trophies and the most wins by a Russian goaltender in NHL history, but that’s not what the Panthers think of when they think of Sergei.
They think of the man who is almost always the first guy on the ice, going through his meticulous routine while providing a wealth of leadership that not a lot of other goaltenders can bring.
“He is an incredibly interesting fellow to talk to about all things other than hockey,“ coach Paul Maurice said. “You can spend an awful lot of time following his prep. You know, the first time I left after a morning skate and he’s Olympic lifting in the hallway, and I was like ‘I’m sure I told him he was starting tonight.’
“And then, over time, there isn’t anything that he doesn’t do to make himself better, to prepare. But I had a real long walk with him in Vancouver last year and I got to know a little bit about his history and his past. He’s a very interesting, very bright man, and very calm. Very deliberate when he speaks. He’s an interesting cat.”
Bobrovsky’s start on Tuesday mark will mark his first chance to chase the 400 mark after earning win No. 399 in Saturday’s 4-3 overtime win against the Vegas Golden Knights.
It will also likely be his only chance to reach the milestone on home ice, as the Panthers head out on a three-game road trip in New York before arriving in Finland for the NHL’s Global Series in Tampere to start November.
Maurice would not divulge into what that would mean for Bobrovsky just yet, not to put the cart before the horse, but it would be a special moment.
“It’s a really good question,” he said when asked about the milestone on Tuesday morning. “I think I got some ideas on how I feel about it. I’d be more comfortable answering it upon it being achieved.
“I don’t have any concern that he won’t, but I’ll answer it from a Bobrovsky perspective. He’s a very humble man. He would prefer if there wasn’t any attention on him, so we’ll wait until he hits that milestone and then I’ll wear the batteries out.”