Sergei Bobrovsky Not With Florida Panthers On Road Trip; But for Good Reason
Sergei Bobrovsky will be away from the Florida Panthers for their two-game road trip in Pennsylvania as he and his wife await the birth of his second child.
Sergei Bobrovsky will be away from the Florida Panthers during their two-game road trip in Pennsylvania, and for good reason.
The 36-year-old netminder and his wife, Olga, are set to welcome their second child into the world this week. He will stay behind with her in South Florida while the team takes on the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday and Friday respectively.
Florida sent rookie standout Mackie Samoskevich down to AHL Charlotte to make salary cap room for Chris Driedger, who is expected to back up Spencer Knight on Tuesday night in Pittsburgh.
Samoskevich’s temporary demotion was to no fault of his own — especially after the success the team has found with him on their top power play unit — and he understands why it had to be done.
The 21-year-old rookie was the only player on Florida’s roster who did not need to go through waivers, so it just made the most sense for the team.
But don’t fret, he will be back.
“I am really happy with him,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice told reporters before the team took off to Pittsburgh on Monday afternoon. “There is a baby coming, and we do not want to waive anyone. Mackie is just terrific. When we first signed him out of college, he did not care about getting into a game to burn a year [off his entry-level contract]. He said, ‘I’ll go wherever you want. You want me to go to the American League? I’ll go there.’
“That is the way he has been since Day 1. Awesome to work with. He gets it. Bill and I had that conversation with him so it’s not just ‘hey kid, you’re going down.’ He understands the reasons. He took it great. I am really happy with him and his development. He is ahead of the curve to where I thought he would be.’’
Jonah Gadjovich is likely to slide in on the fourth line in the meantime during Samoskevich’s two-game absence while one of Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett will take his spot on the top power play until for the time being.
Knight, meanwhile, has the chance to make three consecutive starts at the NHL level coming off of a 20-save shutout against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday afternoon.
For him, it’s a chance to continue building on his game.
His season started out on a rocky note when the Buffalo Sabres scored four goals on 26 shots on him on Oct. 12, but he has been one of the best goaltenders in the league ever since.
Since Oct. 13, the 23-year-old netminder is 4-3-0 with a .920 save percentage and a 2.07 goals-against average. His save percentage ranks seventh and his goals-against average ranks fourth among NHL goalies who have played at least seven games since then.
The Panthers are confident in him and know he can give them a couple of quality starts while the Bobrovsky is waiting to welcome a second child into the world.
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