The Oilers had way too much firepower to deal with in the 2025 Stanley Cup Final. And it didn’t make it any easier that Sergei Bobrovsky was netminding like his life depended on it. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were left slamming the puck against a human wall while the Panthers skated away with the Cup. The Russian goaltender has been in a rich vein of form, quashing the head coach’s qualms about his workload. But the veteran just showed how elite his mentality is with the surprising reveal after his preseason heroics.

The Panthers have brought their winning momentum into the 2025-26 season, and their second preseason game against the Hurricanes has seen some of the main players back. That included Sergei Bobrovsky between the sticks, who he was back to his usual form. The sequence of triple saves he made in the 1st period was too hot for Jameson Olive, the Panthers’ director of digital platforms, to handle. Quickly, he took to X to share it, with the caption: “Playoff Bob sighting in September 👀”.

Later, Olive even asked Bobrovsky about the triple save. And the answer is not at all what you would be expecting. How did Bobrovsky see the entire sequence? “I cleaned up after my mistake,” confessed the goaltender while smiling, as Jameson Olive shared on X. The veteran goalie further explained, “I just have to save it first, and that’s it. I created a little chaos for myself.”

The first slapshot from distance center spilled to Bobrovsky’s left. And the Hurricanes tried to pounce on it, but Bobrovsky spread himself to cover the goal. And the puck ended up right in front of the goal in the center. The third save the Panthers goaltender can definitely be proud of.

But for Bobrovsky the perfectionist, it wasn’t enough to just keep the puck out of the net. But we also know why views his game that way. Because at this level, the margin of error is wafer-thin. And Bobrovsky always keeps a level head. “Everything is so tight, and you know, it could like, it could go any way at any time,” he said, while keeping his celebrations lowkey.

And we literally got to see it in the finals. In both Games 1 and 2 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final, Bobrovsky made 42 saves with a save percentage of .913. But the first one ended in a 4-3 defeat, while the second one went the Panthers’ way, 5-4. In the Hurricanes game on September 29, had Bobrovsky conceded there, instead of making the triple save, the Hurricanes would have made it 1-1, and the momentum could have swung the other way. It’s the little things that end up making a big difference.

But nothing’s changed as far as Bobrovsky’s goaltending is concerned. And he has given his answer to Paul Maurice.

How do the Panthers use Sergei Bobrovsky in the new season?

At 37, Bobrovsky is one of the oldest goaltenders in the NHL, which raises the question of how to manage his game time. Before the game, Jameson Olive shared a tweet that showed the state of limbo they are in. “No finite plan for how much he’ll play. “It’s up to what Robbie (Tallas) and Sergei think he needs, what he wants to get accomplished in the game,” Maurice said.”

The message has been clear that the veteran is still sharp enough to be the No. 1 goaltender for the team. At least for now. How much he stays involved in the regular season from here on is up for debate, though. Last season, Sergei Bobrovsky played 54 out of the 82 regular-season games. But come the Playoffs, he didn’t miss a single game.

In the 23 postseason games, he had a GAA of 2.20, with a save percentage of .914. The telling stat was Bobrovsky having 5 games in the Stanley Cup Final with more than a .900 save percentage. Adding to all this is also his contractual situation, which the Panthers have to address. He is in his final year of his 7-year $70 million contract.

The conundrum was perfectly stated by Greg Andrews, a Florida-based reporter, on the YouTube channel Panthers Digest: “Sergei Bobrovsky, in the last year of his contract, is 36 years old but he’s not playing like it, playing like he’s 10 years younger… Do you think Bobrovsky will sign again with the Panthers and take less money? That’s going to be the big question.”

The puck is now with the Panthers, but how do they proceed? It’s definitely a head-scratcher. For sure, the Panthers will evaluate Sergei Bobrovsky over the length of the season. And the Playoffs will be the deciding factor.