Panthers' Kyle Okposo reflects on Sergei Bobrovsky's intense training during Stanley Cup Final series

By Ankit Kumar

Modified Jul 02, 2024 20:37 GMT

Kyle Okposo joined the Spitting Chiclets podcast with hosts Paul Bissonnette and Ryan Whitney. During the podcast, Okposo talked about Panthers star goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.

Spittin Chiclets podcast shared a video on X and captioned it,

"Bobrovsky just furthering the ‘all goalies are weird’ stereo type."

Kyle Okposo talked about how Bobrovsky used to train during the Stanley Cup Finals. His dedication was full of focus and he was practicing intensively.

"The way this guy goes on the ice and prepares is unlike anything I’ve ever seen," Kyle Okposo said. "How he handles his edges is incredible.

"Steven Lorenz got a lot of play because he was shooting at him; he was like his shooter. I would go on, you know, once every six or seven times. He wants me to hammer him off his head as hard as I can. He loves it. He even screams at the guys all practice to rip shots high. It’s unbelievable," Okposo added.

Ryan Whitney replied:

"You have to be crazy to be a goalie."

Sergei Bobrovsky was the Panthers' decisive player in the NHL playoffs. He helped them gain a 3-0 lead early in the Stanley Cup Finals series.

Timeline of Sergei Bobrovsky's outstanding play in Stanley Cup Finals

In game one against the Edmonton Oilers, despite the Oilers having players like Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Zach Hyman, Sergei Bobrovsky did not let them score a single goal. He helped the Panthers win with a shutout, 3-0.

In Game 2, he repeated his dominant play, but this time, the Oilers had one goal on board. The Panthers won game two with a 4-1 score.

In Game 3, the Oilers put up a fight, but the Panthers won with a 4-3 score. The next three games were poor for Bobrovsky. In Game 4, he was even called off the ice after allowing five goals. The Oilers made a comeback with an 8-1 win.

The Oilers continued their dominance in Games 5 and 6 and won by a good margin to force a Game 7. But Bobrovsky's magic had completely faded, and everyone expected the Oilers to win their first Stanley Cup under Connor McDavid's captaincy.

But once again, Sergei Bobrovsky flipped the situation in the Panthers' favor. He did not allow more than one goal, and the Panthers won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history with a 2-1 score. Bob made 23 saves in Game 7 with a saving percentage of .958.