McKenna’s Matchup of the Day: Feb. 9 – Sergei Bobrovsky vs. Kaapo Kahkonen
Former NHL netminder Mike McKenna provides his Daily Faceoff Starting Goalie Matchup of the Day for Thu. Feb. 9, 2023:
Why I like this matchup:
The Panthers are pushing for the Stanley Cup playoffs and Bobrovsky appears to be their horse in net. As for Kahkonen: it’s been a trying year. But he’s won two consecutive games for the Sharks. Both teams have been poor defensively so this one could be entertaining.
What to watch for:
Don’t look now but Bobrovsky is 5-1-1 in his last seven games of record. Much maligned for his massive $10 million cap hit, Bobrovsky has never quite lived up to the lofty expectations of his contract with Florida. But I do think a lot of that sentiment is driven by numbers other than the win column. This is the first season where Bobrovsky has struggled to find wins. He’s 13-13-2 on the season with a .900 save percentage.
I’ve always been a fan of Bobrovsky and thought he’d eventually get things on track in Florida. And at times he has. But I think he tends to make himself small in the net. And he’s become predictable to opposing teams. They know his weaknesses and over-reliance on post-integrations. But Bobrovsky’s natural explosiveness and compete level gives him a chance. He can still steal games for the Panthers.
I wish I could say the same for Kahkonen, who’s had a tremendously difficult go of things since coming to San Jose at the 2022-23 trade deadline. Once a shining prospect – the AHL’s top goaltender during the 2019-20 season – Kahkonen hasn’t managed to find the consistency necessary at the NHL level.
The Minnesota Wild decided to move on from him – a somewhat surprising move. But the underlying difficulties to Kahkonen’s game have been exploited behind a poor defensive team in San Jose. He plays with an extreme width and tends to get his feet set, which prevents him from rotating effectively. And because Kahkonen prefers to play in the white ice, he has to cover a lot of ice. He ends up chasing the game in scramble mode far more often than he should. Especially with how naturally athletic he is.
What fantasy owners should do:
Start Bob for a win. Leave Kahkonen on the bench.
Bottom line for Sergei Bobrovsky:
At this point, numbers don’t matter. The only category that Bob needs two worry about is the win column.
Bottom line for Kaapo Kahkonen:
He has to find a way to play more controlled. Staying in the blue paint would be a good first step.