Jack Todd: Playoff Bob can't hold a candle to St. Patrick

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Posted By: jasabacklink June 10, 2024

By the time the anthem singer had hit every note in her vocal range 17 times during an overcooked rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner on Saturday, it felt like this wasn’t going to be Edmonton night in South Florida.

The last notes of her tribute to the damage done by American Idol were still echoing in the rafters when Carter Verhaeghe scored on the counterpunch and the tone was set.

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The high-octane Oilers were going to be driven to distraction by one Sergei Andreyevich Bobrovsky (a.k.a. Bob), the Panthers were going to cash their chances quicker than a guy with a winning lottery ticket and, for this one evening, the immovable object was too much for the irresistible force. They’re calling Bobrovsky “Playoff Bob” with hints that the Russian might be the greatest money goalie ever, to which we can only respond: “Playoff Patrick.”

This is not a knock on Bobrovsky, who is the No. 1 reason the Panthers are three wins away from yet another Sun Belt Stanley Cup, the fourth in the past five seasons. But Playoff Bob is 35
years old and has yet to win a Stanley Cup. Bobrovsky’s career playoff numbers are less than dazzling: a career 42-40 won-lost with a 2.88 goals against and a .907 save percentage. Obviously, he’s been better this spring: 13-5, 2.08, .915.

He’s the favourite to earn his first ring, far ahead of Edmonton’s up-and-down long-shot Stuart Skinner. But is he a better playoff goaltender than Patrick Roy? Not in your wildest dreams. St. Patrick is the greatest money goalie of all time and until you’re able to block both ears with your Stanley Cup rings, don’t even think of challenging him.

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Roy won four Stanley Cups, in case you’ve lost count, two each with Montreal and Colorado. He won his third Cup by stoning these same Florida Panthers 1-0 through three overtimes in Game 4 of the 1996 final, a four-game sweep in which Roy stopped 147 of the 151 pucks thrown his way.

Playoff Bob has a long way to go to match Playoff Patrick. And in Roy’s day, even the anthems were better.

That Grey Cup was no fluke: If I were foolish enough to bet, I would have laid money on the Blue Bombers against the Alouettes. Winnipeg was at home, Winnipeg was seeking revenge for that
tight loss in the Grey Cup, the Als have a history of getting blown out by western teams. Instead, it was 27-12 Alouettes and it was that close only because of a late Winnipeg touchdown.

Cody Fajardo, receiver Tyson Philpot and that swarming, overwhelming defence looked every inch the Grey Cup champions they are. First game of the season, Winnipeg’s regulars didn’t play in the two exhibition games, don’t read too much into it, etc. Fine. But when you’re the Grey Cup champions and you open the season playing like Grey Cup champions, it bodes well.

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The Alouettes were a well-oiled machine while the Blue Bombers looked like an oil slick. Winnipeg will get better. Montreal needs only to stay the same.

Meanwhile, if I haven’t said it before, I’ll say it again: I owe an apology to Danny Maciocia, the GM who put this team together. I thought the firing of Khari Jones was unfair, but Maciocia had a plan and it worked. The Alouettes are the best pro team in Montreal and they might be good enough to put a down payment on another dynasty.

Vroom! VROOM! From my abode on the South Shore, it’s hard not to pay attention to the Grand Prix. We hear it, loud and clear, every time we step outside. This year, it was worth the noise. It was wild, it was woolly, it was weird. There was more overtaking in one race than we have seen in the past 10 years combined. Lando Norris was up there, George Russell was up there, Max You-Know-Who was up there. For a time it even looked as though Lewis Hamilton might sweep into the lead.

Yes, in the end there was Max Verstappen, cruising round and round as he does almost every Sunday. While Team Ferrari spent the weekend playing Bernie from Weekend at Bernie’s, Norris had reason to believe he might have won had his McLaren team made a decisive call on a pit stop. Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri are beginning to push Verstappen week after week, Ferrari won in Monaco, Mercedes is no longer a hapless mess.

Bottom line? Perhaps it’s worth getting out of bed on Sunday mornings again.

Heroes: Sergei Bobrovsky, Tyson Philpot, Marc-Antoine Dequoy, Cody Fajardo, Tyrice Beverette, Darnell Sankey, Jason Maas, Noel Thorpe, Anthony Calvillo, Mirra Andreeva, Jasmine Paolini, Iga
Swiatek, Carlos Alcaraz, Lando Norris, Jrue Holiday, Luka Doncic, Sarah Mitton, Mélodie Daoust, Marie-Philip Poulin &&&& last but not least, Danny Maciocia.

Zeros: Alexander Zverev, Christian Horner, Pat McAfee, Stephen A. Smith, Christine Brennan, Chad Kelly, Mark Shapiro, Ross Atkins, Brandon McManus, Jon Horst, five-set men’s tennis, people
who pay $16,500 for special access at the Grand Prix, Bud Selig Jr., Claude Brochu, David Samson &&&& last but not least, Jeffrey Loria. Now and forever.

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TWITTER: @jacktodd46

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