‘My life is in balance’: How fatherhood has shaped Florida Panthers’ Sergei Bobrovsky

For most of his 14-year NHL career, Sergei Bobrovsky has been a man fixed in structure, defined by work ethic and living in the moment. He would be the first on the ice, the last off it and never thought about anything beyond what was directly in front of him.

Now, Bobrovsky is still that way… for the most part.

But the Florida Panthers’ 35-year-old has also softened up his approach a bit over the past couple years and adapted a little more of an open, free mentality.

At the center of that: His 2-year-old daughter, Carolina.

“Before, you can’t even imagine what you’re going to deal with or what you’re going to face. There was an imagination, but it’s not even comparable to reality,” Bobrovsky said. “My daughter changed my life a lot, changed my perspective and changed my priorities.”

Bobrovsky’s life isn’t just about work anymore. His sole focus isn’t just stopping opponents’ shots from going into a net and doing his part to help his team pick up two points when he steps on the ice.

And Bobrovsky said he feels better for it.

“I feel my life is in balance,” Bobrovsky said. “I enjoy it. I enjoy everything — my family, my work, my free time, everything. That gives me energy.”

Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) skates onto the ice before the first period of a hockey game on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. Alie Skowronski/askowronski@miamiherald.com

That energy has been on display this season, with Bobrovsky playing at an All-Star level.

He is 24-10-2 on the season, with his 24 wins the third-most in the NHL behind only the Vancouver Canucks’ Thatcher Demko (27) and Colorado Avalanche’s Alexander Georgiev (27). Bobrovsky has only lost back-to-back games in regulation three times this season, and he is 10-1-1 since Dec. 21.

“He’s just been a brick wall for us,” Panthers star winger Matthew Tkachuk said. “He’s just so calm and just gives us so much confidence. He’s been unreal all year for us.”

It was more of the same on Thursday, as Bobrovsky stopped 21 of 23 shots that came his way in Florida’s 4-2 win over the Washington Capitals in his first game back since the All-Star Break. After the Capitals went up 2-1 with about six minutes left in the second period, Bobrovsky stopped the final seven shots he faced as Florida rallied for the comeback win.

But perhaps his biggest stop came when he denied Washington’s Beck Malenstyn on a penalty shot attempt midway through the first period to keep the game 0-0.

“No surprise,” said Florida forward Ryan Lomberg, who scored the game-winning goal late in the third period. “That was the vibe on the bench when the guy picked up the puck and was going on the ice. I don’t think a single one of us was overly worried. We’ve seen it all season in practice.”

This and that

▪ With a three-point performance on Thursday, Tkachuk has now logged 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) over 15 games since Jan. 2. That’s tied with Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon for the league lead over that span.

▪ Florida’s win on Thursday was its 14th comeback win of the season. That’s the sixth-most in the NHL behind only the Dallas Stars (17), New Jersey Devils (17), New York Rangers (15), Detroit Red Wings (15) and Avalanche (15).

▪ Sam Renhart’s power-play goal in the second period was his 38th overall goal of the season, tying Olli Jokinen for the seventh-most in a single season in franchise history. His 21 power play goals are already a franchise record and eight more than anyone in the NHL this season.