A year ago, if I had told you that today, I’d be writing a preview for a Florida vs. New York best-of-five qualifying round series during a pandemic, that will take place mid-summer with Semyon Varlamov starting for the Islanders and Sergei Bobrovsky in net for the Panthers…..
Well, here we are. As I continue to preview the Islanders/Panthers series, this article will look at which team has the advantage in net.
Like was the case with New York's defense, goaltending has been a major strength for the Islanders over the last two seasons. By the middle of December, Varlamov was holding a .928 save percentage in 18 games, while Thomas Greiss was even better, at a .932 save percentage in 16 games. You really couldn’t ask for a better start to the season from your goalies.
However, the tandem were really struggling (along with the rest of the team) by the time the season was paused in March. From Dec. 17 onwards, Varlamov played in 27 games, registering a .905 save percentage in that time (and his stats in the last few games of the season were quite a bit worse than that). Greiss, on the other hand, was brutal, playing in 15 games from mid-December onwards and registering a terrible .888 save percentage.
Now that New York's goalies have had an extended break and a chance to reset, hopefully they’ll be back to the form they were in to start the season. Overall, it was still a fairly strong year from the tandem, with Varlamov finishing the season at a .914 save percentage and Greiss holding a .913 save percentage.
For the Panthers, Sergei Bobrovksy was supposed to be their key offseason addition. However, after inking a monster $70 million deal, he got off to a very rocky start in his first season in Florida. He had a very poor .900 save percentage this season, which ranked 38th of the 45 goalies who played at least 30 games. Considering I took him in the third round of my fantasy hockey draft, this was especially disappointing for me.
One interesting story to keep an eye on for the Panthers, however, could be Chris Driedger, who had a .938 save percentage in his 12 NHL games this season. While Sam Montembeault struggled as a backup with Florida, Driedger was excellent in his limited NHL action. That said, I doubt Florida would use him if Bobrovsky was struggling, even if he could be a decent option, based on his lack of NHL experience.
While Bobrovsky is by far the best goalie between the teams when he’s at his best, this season, he wasn’t at his best and it’s impossible to predict whether he will be when the NHL resumes play. While Varlamov and Greiss were also inconsistent this season, they were better overall and based on having an extra option in net if one goalie struggles, the Islanders, right now at least, actually may have an advantage in goal.
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Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
Which team do you think will have the better goaltending in the series?
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