LAS VEGAS (AP) — Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was pulled midway through Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday after allowing four goals on 13 shots against the Vegas Golden Knights.
It marked the first time this postseason the 13-year veteran gave up four goals in consecutive games. He also yielded four in each of his last two regular-season games.
Jonathan Marchessault and Alec Martinez gave Vegas a two-goal lead in the first period as the Golden Knights looked to grab a 2-0 advantage in the best-of-seven series. Nicolas Roy made it 3-0 just 2:59 into the second period, and Brett Howden ended Bobrovsky’s night minutes later when he deked his way across the crease and tapped the puck into a wide-open net.
Alex Lyon, who opened the playoffs as Florida's starter, replaced Bobrovsky after Howden scored 7:10 into the second.
Bobrovsky was the hottest goaltender around coming into the final, winning 11 of 12 games and stopping 438 of 465 shots during that span for a 1.95 goals-against average and .942 save percentage.
So far in the final, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner has a 5.52 GAA and .826 save percentage.
___
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports