Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky makes save of the year in playoffs

Moments ago in tonight's matchup between the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning, Sergei Bobrovsky showed he's still one of the NHL's most elite goaltenders. Diving with his back turned to the play, Bobrovsky made likely the best save of this year.

Bobrovsky made the unbelievable diving stop against Matt Dumba at a critical time as well. The Panthers took advantage of home ice early with two goals in the first, but Bobrovsky's diving stop kept the score tied in the second and allowed the Panthers to withstand a big push from the Lightning.




Now 35 years old, Bobrovsky was a massive part of the Panthers run to the Stanley Cup Finals last playoffs, despite having a disappointing regular season. This year, Bobrovsky has been dialled all the way in, playing 58 games and recording 36 wins with a .915 save percentage and a 2.37 GAA. If Bobrovsky maintains this level of play through the playoffs, he'll be able to steal games for the Panthers and lead his team back to the Cup Finals once again.

The Panthers are an extremely talented and physical team up front, and backed with this elite goaltending from Bobrovsky, they look like a wagon once again. The currently have a one game lead on the Lightning in their series, and will take a commanding lead if they can finish with a victory tonight.

In western conference NHL news tonight, Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko has been ruled out of the first round with an injury. Demko is a prime example of a goaltender would could take a team single handedly to the Cup like Bobrovsky - and an injury to Demko could be disastrous for their playoff hopes.