The Florida Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final to capture the franchise’s first championship. One of the building blocks of their title-winning lineup came to town as a free agent in 2019. Two-time Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky relocated from Columbus to Florida and, within four seasons, guided the Panthers to back-to-back Final appearances in 2023 and 2024.
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On June 24, 2024, Bobrovsky became only the fourth Russian-born netminder to win the Stanley Cup. Who are the other three goalies to achieve this feat? Look back through the hockey annuals to see who else has their names engraved on hockey’s Holy Grail.
Sergei Bobrovsky (Florida Panthers) – 2024
As mentioned, Bobrovsky is now the fourth Russian-born goalie and third starter to guide his team to the Stanley Cup. Interestingly enough, the previous two starters to win it all also played in Florida but represented the Tampa Bay Lightning on both occasions—more on those guys in a minute.
Bobrovsky had a rocky 2023 postseason, not even starting in the first round against the Boston Bruins, but stepped in to prolong the Panthers’ season, supercharging the lineup and getting them into the Stanley Cup Final for the second time ever. During this magical run, which ended in a Game 5 defeat at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights in the Final, Bobrovsky skated in 19 games and produced a 12-6 record with a .915 SV% and .278 GAA.
Although his numbers weren’t as crisp in 2024, Bobrovsky went into the Final as Florida’s best chance to win the Conn Smythe Trophy. After three brilliant games, it looked like he would pull off a heist over Connor McDavid. However, three consecutive losses hurt his overall postseason numbers, which finished at 16-8 and .906 SV% and 2.32 GAA. In the end, Bobrovsky saved one of his top performances for Game 7, which Florida won 2-1.
Andrei Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay Lightning) – 2020, 2021
Andrei Vasilevskiy is not only the only Russian-born netminder to win the Stanley Cup twice, he’s the only one to capture the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. He’s been tending goal for the Lightning since the 2014-15 season, even skating in the Final that season, which the Lightning lost to the Chicago Blackhawks.
Despite losing in his first championship series, Vasilevskiy persevered and led Tampa Bay to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020, 2021, and 2022, winning back-to-back titles in 2020 and 2021. During the first run, he produced an 18-7 record in 25 games, posting a .927 SV% and .190 GAA.
However, his best was yet to come. In the following campaign, in 2022, Vasilveskiy outdid his previous performance, going 16-7 with a .937 SV% and 1.90 GAA to help the Lightning become only the second time in the salary cap to win consecutive championships. For his efforts, he won the Conn Smythe Trophy.
While challenging for a third straight title in 2022, Tampa Bay came up empty-handed against the Colorado Avalanche, who ended their chance at a three-peat in six games.
Ilya Bryzgalov (Anaheim Ducks) – 2007
Ilya Bryzagalov was one of the NHL’s most playful personalities. Whether it was making unorthodox saves on the ice or providing off-the-wall commentary in interviews, the league lost something special when he retired.
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As mentioned, four Russian-born goalies have won the Stanley Cup, and Bryzagalov is one of them. However, he is the only one on this list to get his name on the Silver Chalice without being the starter since he served as a backup to Jean-Sebastian Giguere with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007. During that championship run, he appeared in only five games with a 1-1 record, playing only 267 minutes.
Nikolai Khabibulin (Tampa Bay Lightning) – 2004
Nikolai Khabibulin has probably never paid for a meal in the Tampa Bay area since helping the Lightning win their first Stanley Cup title in 2004. During his only trip to the Final, he played 23 games and produced a 16-7 record with a .933 SV%, a 1.71 GAA, and five shutouts.
On top of his nightly heroics, there was no save bigger than his right pad save on Martin Gelinas in Game 6 of the Final. Although video evidence at the time proved to be inclusive, it appeared the Calgary Flames had scored the go-ahead goal and were on the verge of winning the series and the Cup.
However, Khabibulin’s toe extended the game, which the Lightning won in overtime to set up Game 7, which they won 2-1. On June 7, 2004, the Russian netminder skated into the history books as the goalie from his country to hoist the Stanley Cup.
Historical Perspective
As of 2024, only 14 goalies from the USSR/Russia have skated in an NHL playoff game. Because of his recent successes, Vasilevskiy is the only one with over 100 appearances, with Bobrovsky behind him. Considering the crop of young star Russian-born goalies in the league today, including Alexandar Georgiev (Colorado Avalanche), Ilya Sorokin (New York Islanders), and Igor Shesterkin (New York Rangers), will any of them lead their respective teams to a Stanley Cup title and eventually expand this list to five?
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