The Panthers locked down their defense. They had great goaltending, thanks to Sergei Bobrovsky. He was out there late in warmups, and that’s when I knew he wanted the work. I’d seen him do that in Philly and during his career. 

Eetu Luostarinen quietly goes about his business and now has two rings to show for it.  The second-year path to the Cup would seem to he harder, but I was surprised by his response. 

“I think maybe a little bit easier just to know what we expect. I mean, the teams that we play against are hard. I want to say that, like, but I think just for our team, like, we knew we would have to go through and how many big games we had, and like, I think that helped big time.” 

I said they might empty the tank at home, and he confirmed that.  

“Yeah, I mean we wanted to play balls out.” 

Every player on the team knows how good their goaltending was. BOB is now in elite company and will have a chance at another Cup next season. His early play with a big leg save and stepping up to clear the puck frustrated the Oilers.  

“Oh, for sure. Every game. He makes those key saves out, keeps the game in, and gives us the go. Then get the lead. So, he’s been huge for the past two years now,” Luostarinen added.

Matthew Tkachuk thanked his trainers. He was playing with a torn abductor muscle and a hernia. I don’t know how you overcome that.  

Look for a few more pieces in the next day or so.  

Gadjovich, Tkachuk, and Bobrovsky photos by Sportsology