Florida Panthers Paul Maurice reveals what truly annoys Sergei Bobrovsky

Florida held off the Ottawa Senators 3-2 on Saturday, a game that felt bigger than the scoreboard for a team that needed points in a hurry. The Panthers improved to 23-18-3, and the road record moved to 9-9-0.

The Panthers didn't need pretty, they needed special teams and composure. Evan Rodrigues and Carter Verhaeghe scored on the power play, and Florida's penalty kill went a perfect 5-for-5.

Bobrovsky allowed two on 19 shots, but the details matter here. One was a sharp-angle puck that rode up awkwardly off Gustav Forsling's stick, and the other was a doorstep deflection from Drake Batherson.

As a Panthers watcher, I've seen this movie lately, one early wobble and the night slides away.

That's why this one hit different, because Bobrovsky has been searching for his clean rhythm. StatMuse had him around an .840 save percentage over his last five games, and RotoWire also tagged the stretch as sub-.850.

In Ottawa, he made the saves that stop momentum, not just shots. The third period was calm because he stayed square and swallowed rebounds when the building started to buzz.

Paul Maurice basically admitted the first goal would annoy his goalie, then praised what came next. Maurice said Bobrovsky «raises his level» when an early one sneaks in, and Saturday was the perfect example.

It also mattered because this was Bobrovsky's first win since Dec. 29, and Florida had already dropped two straight to open this six-game trip. When your lineup is missing stars, you need your biggest name to look like it.

That injury context is real right now, with Matthew Tkachuk still out and Brad Marchand not yet ready to return. Those absences don't excuse mistakes, but they absolutely change how much the goaltender has to carry.

Now it's about stacking it, because the trip rolls on Monday in Buffalo. If Bobrovsky holds this level while Florida waits for reinforcements, the road swing suddenly looks survivable instead of scary.

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