Sergei Bobrovsky not sure if he will play for the Florida Panthers in the season opener against the Chicago Blackhawks at the BB&T Center on Sunday (19:00 ET; NHLN, TVAS, SN, FS-F, NBCSCH, NHL.TV).
The goalkeeper, who skated for the first time in the training camp on Wednesday, has not been able to train since the camp started, said coach Joel Quenneville.
“It’s definitely great to be back with the boys to start working, to see the puck and to be around my teammates,” Bobrovsky said. “It’s great to be back and I felt good, so I need a few more practices and I’m ready to go.”
Bobrovsky said he will skate on Thursday, but the Panthers are not scheduled to have another full practice until Friday. They will practice on Saturday before playing on Sunday.
Florida was scheduled to start the season with home games against the Dallas Stars on Thursday and Friday, but they were postponed due to Stars’ COVID-19 issues.
“I’m glad to see him back,” Quenneville said of Bobrovsky. “He felt good there. He did a lot of exercises, he almost did every shot at the end of it. So he had a good day’s work. We’ll see how he comes tomorrow and presents and we’ll talk to our group goalkeeper. I think we have an opportunity here. He will dictate to us in the coming days whether or not Sunday is an option. “
If Bobrovsky doesn’t play, Chris Driedger or Sam Montembeault will probably start. Driedger was 7-2-1 with an average of 2.05 goals, with a save percentage of .938 and a closing in 12 games (11 starts) last season. Montembeault were 5-5-1 with 3.34 GAA and a save percentage of .890 in 14 games (nine starts).
Bobrovsky said he had limited himself to light stretching workouts in the past week and a half. He spent almost two hours on ice on Wednesday.
“It’s important to feel the net, to feel the ice, to feel the tools on your body, to see the puck, to see the traffic,” Bobrovsky said. “It was a great practice. I saw straight, 3-by-2 photos in the areas, all the different types of activities in front of me. It was great. I also worked a little extra on the basics. It was a great practice. for me “.
Bobrovsky is looking to return after last season, his first with the Panthers after signing a seven-year deal on July 1, 2019. He was 23-19-6 with a 3.23 GAA percentage and a .900 save percentage in 50 games (49 starts).
He was the highest GAA and the lowest percentage of savings he had in any of the nine NHL seasons in which he played at least 30 games.
“Bob had a great off-season,” Quenneville said. “I know last year, the expectations, a lot of things were high and when you evaluate Bob’s contribution or season, I thought he adapted well to what needs to be addressed or worked on. I think he did a good job of to get himself to the right place mentally, physically.
“A small failure here, but I think he’s more than excited to start the season and do what he has to do. He approached it correctly and I think he balanced expectations with how he should play on the net. Being a a solid teammate and a great contributor to the success of the team is what he is looking to do. We imagine he will be a big part of it. “