Fansided

Columbus Blue Jackets 17-18 Season Evaluation: Sergei Bobrovsky

By Lansing Murphy |
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 21: Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov (92) watches as Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) snatches up the puck during the first round Stanley Cup playoff game 5 between the Washington Capitals and the Columbus Blue Jackets on April 21, 2018, at Capital One Arena, in Washington, D.C. The Capitals defeated the Blue Jackets 4-3 in overtime.(Photo by Tony Quinn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 21: Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov (92) watches as Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) snatches up the puck during the first round Stanley Cup playoff game 5 between the Washington Capitals and the Columbus Blue Jackets on April 21, 2018, at Capital One Arena, in Washington, D.C. The Capitals defeated the Blue Jackets 4-3 in overtime.(Photo by Tony Quinn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

With the Columbus Blue Jackets season over it’s time for the Union and Blue staff to give their evaluation of each player’s year.

For the last six seasons, the heart and soul of the Columbus Blue Jackets has been goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. In six years he has led this team to record breaking regular seasons and won the Vezina twice.

This last season for Bob wasn’t a dominate, Vezina like season but it was darn close. Bob was on pace to win back-to-back Vezina’s in the first two months of the year. He started with an impressive 14-5-1 record with three shutouts in his first 20 starts. If Bob could have kept up this pace he would have ran away with the top goaltender of the year award and the Jackets would have ran away with the Presidents’ Trophy.

But the heart of winter chilled Bob’s performance and the team’s performance. The drop in Bob’s numbers in December and January were directly tied to the teams rash of injuries and level of play falling off. There were few games where Sergei let in bad goals but more games where a lack of defensive performance in front of him just led to buckets of high danger scoring chances for the other team.

Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus Blue Jackets /

Columbus Blue Jackets

Bob was rarely the problem but still he stumbled back towards a .500 winning percentage and a .910 save percentage until late February. The Columbus Blue Jackets late season run helped Bob salvage a season and turn in an impressive season that had him in some folks top five for the Vezina trophy by the end of the season. Bob finished with the fifth most wins, seventh highest save percentage and seventh lowest goals against average in the NHL.

Did Playoff Bob Disappoint?

It was another rock solid regular season for Sergei but did it translate into the playoffs? Yes and no. Bob played well enough for the Jackets to win the series but he didn’t play well enough to carry the team to a series win.

He made big saves at big times but Bob was sunk on the penalty kill. The Jackets just put Bob in too many situations where he was forced to try to stop one of the best power play’s in the game too many times. The Jackets gave the Capitals 27 power play opportunities in six games. The Caps scored nine power play goals and that was the difference in the series.

Bob could have made a few more saves on the penalty kill but that still wouldn’t have been enough. 27 opportunities is just too many to overcome. Bob had a .900 save percentage in the series but at even strength his save percentage was .938. That is more than enough to win a series.

You do expect a player like Bob to steal you a game or two in a series which he didn’t. He also didn’t cost the Jackets any game in the series. The disappointment is only due to the high expectations that come from having a two time Vezina winner in net. The Jackets will certainly keep that in mind when they start negotiating a new contract with Sergei this offseason.

Next: CBJ Goaltending Depth Chart

All in all it was another great year from Bob and his playoff performance was his best to this day. We’re all sick of saying next year, but next year Bob looks primed to lead this team on a playoff run.

Home / Editorials