Florida Panthers’ Sergei Bobrovsky leaves game vs Montreal Canadiens with lower-body injury

Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky left Thursday night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens early in the first period with a lower-body injury. He is questionable to return.

The incident occurred just two minutes into the first period of action when Canadiens forward Josh Anderson redirected the puck on the net, causing Bobrovsky to react quickly. Bobrovsky left the ice abruptly and appeared to be in discomfort. Backup goaltender Alex Lyon, who makes his season and Panthers debut replaced him. Lyon, 30, has spent time with the Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes. The Baudette, Minnesota native has played 24 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) over the course of six seasons, posting a 7-7-3 record while holding a goals-against average (GAA) of 3.18 and a .895 save percentage (SV%). Last season, Lyon won the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Calder Cup with the Chicago Wolves and also won the AHL’s Best Goaltending Duo Award. 

Bobrovsky, 34, has a record of 12-13-2 this season, posting a 3.25 GAA and .897 SV%. Bobrovsky is currently in his fourth season with the Panthers. During the 2021-22 campaign, he led all NHL netminders with 39 wins after posting a 39-7-3 record alongside a 2.67 GAA and .913 SV%. Losing the two-time Vezina Trophy winner would be a major blow to the Panthers, who are already dealing with an injury in the net with Spencer Knight. On July 1, 2019, Bobrovsky signed a seven-year, $70,000,000 contract with the Panthers that has a cap bit of $10,000,000. The Panthers currently sit fourth in the Atlantic Division with a record of 21-20-5 and 47 points in 46 games.

The Panthers also announced that forward Eric Staal would not return to the game due to an upper body injury. Staal took a reverse hit from Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson and was shaken up on the play. Staal has 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in 39 games this season.