Bobrovsky was almost broken by his own defender! Emotions “Florida” after a unique victory
Sergey Emelyanov May 19, 2023, 11:15 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
The Russian goalkeeper had the most difficult game of his career and then fell to Gustav Forsling.
Just when Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers seemed like it would never end, American Away leader Matthew Tkachuk defeated Frederik Andersen with a great shot to stop the clock in an incredible 139 minutes and 47 seconds. Just 13 seconds wasn’t enough for the Hurricanes to push the series opener into fifth overtime.
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But even without this, today’s game entered the history of the NHL, becoming the sixth longest in the entire existence of the league, and for both teams in general a record. Never before had Carolina and Florida played hockey for so long. A remarkable story here is connected with the “hurricanes”, which today have surpassed the achievement of 21 years ago.
The previous record for the longest game in Keynes history was set in 2002 in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. Then Detroit Red Wings forward Igor Larionov hit Carolina’s gate in the 115th minute of the game, giving the Red Wings the win. Twenty-one years ago, the Hurricanes were coached by a very young specialist: 35-year-old Sault Ste. native Marie Paul Maurice. More than two decades later, the Carolinas lost a record game for the length again, only Maurice today had completely different feelings about the outcome of the meeting. After all, now the Canadian specialist is training Florida.
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Florida’s game-winning goal was scored at 2:00 a.m. local time in Raleigh. During the match, many fans couldn’t resist and fell asleep in the stands. At the end of the fourth overtime, a sleeping fan even got into the camera lens.
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Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky continued to have an incredible playoff run and saved 60+ shots in a game for the first time in his career, finishing the game with 63 saves, simultaneously setting a new World Cup record. club. After a well-aimed shot from Tkachuk late in the fourth overtime, Bobrovsky, bearing a heavy charge, did not have the strength for even a full run towards his teammates.
The Russian slowly rolled into, then effectively sliced through the air with a stick and then fell under a teammate, Gustav Forsling. The Swedish defender jumped on his goalie and knocked him onto the ice. Fortunately, there was no damage. It’s scary to imagine what his partners would have done with Forsling if Sergey had been hurt in this episode. And what could not happen to the goalkeeper, who was in the goal for 140 minutes.
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Having been a little happy on the ice, the Florida players hurriedly left the site, very quickly heading to the locker room to enjoy the victory there.
“These games become a game of attrition. Just try to be patient and wait for each release. Just one shot at a time. You reflect one shot after another, ”Bobrovsky said after the end of the match.
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“I definitely feel very tired. But I think you get less tired when you win”, added a happy Tkachuk.
Representatives of “Carolina”, of course, were torn apart by completely opposite emotions. After a marathon that lasted a total of six hours (not playing time, but life time), the Hurricanes lost the game and lost home field advantage in this series.
“It’s the worst way to lose a game,” Hurricanes head coach Rod Brindamore said sadly.
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Even though teams played more than two full games instead of one today, only one game will count for the playoffs. And the day after tomorrow, May 21, the teams will meet again in Raleigh, having played the second game at the PNC Arena. It will be incredibly interesting to see which of the rivals will be able to recover the best after such a crazy marathon.
