SUNRISE, Florida -- Legend has it a cat possesses nine lives, and always lands on its feet.
Florida Panthers' goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky seems to have taken those myths to heart.
Like the creature emblazoned on the crest of his sweater, the 34-year-old Bobrovsky has survived -- and eventually thrived -- through a tumultuous NHL season. In the previous eight months, Bobrovsky has been maligned and lionized, built up and counted out, a No. 1 starter and secondary afterthought.
Through it all, Bobrovsky was saving his best work for this moment, as the Panthers' postseason hero.