Bobrovsky save 'fantastic' for growing game in Florida

TAMPA, Fla. -- Sergei Bobrovsky didn't just make a spectacular save in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference First Round on Tuesday, he may have inspired a new generation of goalies in South Florida.

Videos of and stories about the Florida Panthers goalie's acrobatic, hard-to-believe save were everywhere Wednesday, from morning newscasts to YouTube, and his coach Paul Maurice said the crossover appeal of the play is great for hockey in their area.

"I think it's fantastic for down here," Maurice said Wednesday at the Panthers practice facility in Fort Lauderdale. "There's probably a number of kids in the driveway this weekend, they all want to play goal for the first time, right? For me, that's how it happens. They see something kind of magical, and they all go and try it.

"And then they will have five kids and there will be a street hockey game going on and everybody will want to be Bobrovsky. They'll be flipping around in the net, trying to do the spin-o-rama kick saves."

That's one way to describe what Bobrovsky pulled off on Tuesday.

With about six minutes left in the second period of a 2-2 game, Tampa Bay forward Anthony Cirelli carried the puck into the offensive zone with Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour in pursuit. Cirelli was able to get off a shot but missed the net.

The puck bounced off the end boards to the other side of the net to Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov. Bobrovsky lunged across the crease in an attempt to stop Kucherov's shot and went down to the ice, almost falling on his belly. Instead of shooting, however, Kucherov slid the puck across the crease where Matt Dumba was all by himself. Dumba flicked a one-time, backhanded shot toward the open net, but Bobrovsky somehow got back up, and with his back facing Dumba, stuck out his left arm and stopped the puck from going in with his forearm.

"I think the first shot, he missed the net and the second one, I was a little bit late behind the play," Bobrovsky said. "It was desperation, I tried to throw as much body as possible and was able to make the save."

It was the biggest of the 21 saves Bobrovsky made in the 3-2 overtime win that helped the Panthers take a 2-0 lead heading into Game 3 of the best-of-7 series at Amalie Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; MAX, TBS, BSFLX, BSSUN, BSFL, TVAS2, SN).

And one that will resonate in South Florida for years to come, Maurice said.

"That's what we did when we were growing up. Everybody wanted to be Guy Lafleur, flying down the ice and take a slap shot and watch it knuckle to the net," Maurice said. "That's what's great about being a kid. That's how you grow the game. You get some kids, they see something by people they think are cool and they try to emulate it.

"It's a good thing."