Edmonton Oilers finally expose clear weakness in Bobrovsky's game

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Noel Drolet
June 16, 2024 (12:55)

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Last night the Edmonton Oilers unloaded offensively, finally able to score after they found Sergei Bobrovsky's weakness - shooting high.

With the Oilers' amazing effort last night in game 4, it shows that the Panthers are beatable for the Oilers. Bobrovsky had been playing incredibly up until that game, where he gave up 5 goals on 16 shots. Up until game 4 the Oilers had been struggling to get goals on him, with only 4 goals in 3 games. Bobrovsky has been great so far, but has one main weakness that the Oilers need to learn to exploit more in order to come back in the series.

Of the 38 goals he has let in this postseason, a staggering 31 of them have been above his shoulders. That is a crazy ratio, and seems to be his Achilles heel in net. The Oilers need to continue to shoot high on Bobrovsky and force him to make hard saves or give up rebounds.

Bobrovsky has always been known as one of the most agile goalies in net. He can get to almost anything on the ground, which is why he has so little goals scored on him low, with none given up through the 5-hole. The Oilers have been the only team in the postseason to chase Bobrovsky from the crease, so they are starting to figure out how to best him.

Bobrovsky has been demoted to a .909 sv% and a 2.27 GAA in the playoffs this year after his slaughter in game 4. The Oilers have been peppering him with shots, but he has been able to steal multiple games for the Panthers this series. The Oilers are slowly figuring him out, with scoring from the team drastically trending upwards.

With the Oilers' more recent success against Bobrovsky, it seems they may be figuring him out. If they can continue to find ways to get the puck behind Florida's amazing goaltender, they may be able to turn the tide of this series.