LAS VEGAS --Sergei Bobrovsky couldn't stop what he couldn't see.
The Florida Panthers goalie showed no signs of rust, but his best efforts weren't enough in a 5-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday. That was mostly because the Golden Knights succeeded where previous opponents in the Stanley Cup Playoffs had not, creating traffic in front of the net to get shots past Bobrovsky.
Two of the four goals Vegas scored on Bobrovsky came through screens, including defenseman Zach Whitecloud's game-winner 6:59 into the third period.
"He's been playing really well over there," Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel said. "Unless you get some traffic, it's tough to beat him. It's one of the things we've got to do in this series if we want to be successful, get guys and pucks and bodies to the net. We did it well."
Bobrovsky was satisfied with his play after allowing four goals on 33 shots and seemed to enjoy the experience of his first Stanley Cup Final game despite the result. And coming off a nine-day break following a sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final, Bobrovsky put to rest any thoughts that the layoff would take him off his game by calmly making a glove save on Brett Howden's shot from the slot 3:49 into the first period.
"I felt pretty good," Bobrovsky said. "I saw the puck well. The movement was good, everything was good. It was a great game. I was really happy to be there to play that game and to face that team. It was good."
Still, it took the Golden Knights one game to break through the aura of invincibility Bobrovsky created against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round, when he posted a 1.89 goals-against average and .943 save percentage, and Hurricanes in the conference final, when he had a 1.12 GAA and .966 save percentage.
Defenseman Shea Theodore's goal from the high slot that gave Vegas a 2-1 lead at 10:54 of the second period was aided by Howden's screen in front. And even though Florida appeared to have momentum after Anthony Duclair tied it 2-2 with 10.2 seconds left in the second, Vegas was opportunistic to break the game open in the third.
Whitecloud's winner came after Bobrovsky made a right pad save on Ivan Barbashev, who was driving to the net on a 2-on-1 with Eichel. However, Barbashev got the rebound and sent a pass up to Whitecloud, who moved into the high slot before letting go a wrist shot that went in over Bobrovsky's left pad and under his glove.
That time, Duclair was the player who impeded Bobrovsky's vision.
"It was a little screen there," Bobrovsky said.
Mark Stone's goal that made it 4-2 at 13:41 came off a turnover by Matthew Tkachuk, but considering that Theodore's and Whitecloud's goals came on similar shots from similar spots on the ice, Vegas had a clear game plan against Bobrovsky.
"He's such an elite goalie, so you have to make his life hard there," Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault said. "We know he's really good low, and it's one of those things that we got to get to the front of the net, and we were able to get a few pucks through there and it helped our offense, for sure."
Not that the Panthers are worried about Bobrovsky, who has been a stabilizing force since taking over as starter in Game 4 of the first round against the Boston Bruins, a series they rallied to win after trailing 3-1.
"Sergei was great from the start," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. " … That first glove save he made was just the concern about rust was gone. The losing team talks about too many of something and the winning team talks about the fabulousness of all other things, and it's 2-2 until that puck gets turned over, so it was a tight game. Both teams made mistakes."
