Philadelphia Flyers Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky Needs Chance To Adjust

I have been waiting for this to happen. It seems that today’s sports media only props up athletes so they can have a chance to knock them back down again.

For Sergei Bobrovsky, it took until the 22nd start of his career for the naysayers to pounce.

The Flyers’ netminder (actually the entire team) allowed San Jose to score three unanswered goals in the third period, and the Sharks eventually won the game 5-4 in a shootout. None of the goals were fully Bobrovsky’s fault, as they were a mixture of screens, un-cleared loose pucks, and point blank scoring chances.

And if Mike Richards’ disallowed overtime goal was shot just a tenth of a second sooner, then the blame game would have been diminished, if not completely eliminated. However, in light of the tough loss, the microscope had to be put on someone, and the media chose the goalie.

The headlines in the Philly papers appeared to be feeding into the panic stricken, die hard Flyers’ fans obsession for a franchise goaltender:

Is Flyers goalie Bobrovsky the real deal?

Foes starting to figure out ‘Bob’

Of course, the writers recoiled a bit from their eye catching titles in the actual body of their articles, but I have to wonder why they are even questioning Bobrovsky’s future in the first place. Did they suddenly forget that he is currently third in the league in wins and fifth in both goals against average (GAA) and save percentage (SV%)?

Bobrovsky, 22, moved to a new country, doesn’t speak English, and is adapting to a style of game that is different than anything he saw in Russia. His performance thus far has been way beyond what anyone thought was possible coming into the season, so perhaps we should allow the rookie some time to work on any perceived weaknesses with Flyers goaltending coach Jeff Reese before condemning him as the next Dominic Roussel, Antero Niittymaki, or Brian Boucher.

Reese, you may remember, was widely credited for Michael Leighton’s surprisingly productive 2009-10 season, so it’s safe to say he knows what he’s doing, and Bobrovsky will only get better.

Speaking of Leighton, I guess I should be happy that the talk of him replacing “Bob” when he returns from his injury hasn’t started yet. Yet…

All of that said, it is worth noting that Bobrovsky is 2-1-1 on his current “bad streak” with a 2.69 GAA and a .908 SV%. And even if you want to include his worst game of the season, when he allowed four first period goals before being pulled against Tampa Bay, as the starting point of his troubles, then he is 3-2-2 with a 2.81 GAA and an .898 SV%. That’s hardly a reason to panic.

Now I’m not saying Bobrovsky is beyond criticism. He let in a soft goal against the Islanders last Sunday which, fortunately for him, didn’t cost the Flyers the game. But I wish people could at least try to hold back from questioning his entire future every time he hits a rough patch by pointing out that he is susceptible to high shots (a real shocker for a butterfly goaltender) or that he doesn’t look good in shootouts (news flash: there are no shootouts in the playoffs).

And if I can make a suggestion to all of the writers out there that don’t know what to publish without catering to the lowest common denominator, perhaps you could actually go on record as to whether you think Bobrovsky will make it instead of just implying that he might not.

I have said that he has the lateral movement and athleticism to be an elite NHL goaltender, and I never felt that way about the aforementioned “saviors” for the Flyers in goal. See how easy that was.