Sergei Bobrovsky’s strong November for Panthers also comes with a good cause in mind

The Florida Panthers’ win against the Edmonton Oilers on Monday meant a little bit more to Sergei Bobrovsky.

The whole month of November means a little bit more, really.

November is when the NHL holds its annual Hockey Fights Cancer initiative, which has raised more than $32 million since it started in 1998.

Each team has a Hockey Fights Cancer night during the month. Florida’s was on Monday against Edmonton as it started a three-game homestand that continues 7 p.m. Wednesday against the Boston Bruins and ends 8 p.m. Friday against the Winnipeg Jets.

Bobrovsky, however, makes an effort to have the initiative seen throughout the entire month with the Panthers.

Each November, he swaps out his usual facemask for a lavender version for the entire month. Once the calendar flips to December, he donates the mask to the Panthers, who auction it off for charity.

“It’s to support the community and support the kids here,” Bobrovsky said after Florida’s 5-3 win on Monday. “We’re going to auction it off and donate the money to the community. There are different circumstances in the world and people fighting with real stuff there.”

And Bobrovsky has had plenty of time to show off the mask, which is an exact replica of his normal one — the Florida shield on one side, palm tree/hockey stick logo on the other and leaping cat on the front — but just with the purple hue.

Bobrovsky’s 25-save effort on Monday was his seventh start of the month. He is 6-1-0 on those seven November outings and has a .908 save percentage.

November in general has been good to Bobrovsky over his 14-year NHL career. In 110 November games, Bobrovsky is 64-31-11 with a .917 save percentage.

His win on Monday against the Oilers — one in which he stopped the final 17 shots he faced while the Panthers rallied for three unanswered goals over the final 35 minutes — was No. 369 of his NHL career. That ties him with Tom Barrasso and Peeka Rinne for 20th all-time in NHL history.

“We were solid defensively,” Bobrovsky said of the team’s effort Monday. “I thought the guys did a great job. It’s fun to be out there in those moments when the game is on the line and against two of the best players in the world [in Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Leon Draisitl]. To compete against them and shut them down — it’s even better. It was fun.”

With 64 more games left this season, there’s a chance Bobrovsky could get to 400 career wins this season, something only 13 goalies have ever done in the NHL.

This and that

▪ Kevin Stenlund posted a career-high three points on Monday, scoring the go-ahead goal and adding a pair of primary assists.. Stenlund has five goals on the season, one shy of his single season career high of six done twice in his career (2019-20 and 2022-23).

▪ The Panthers are one of two teams to have not allowed more than 35 shots on goal in a game so far this season. The New Jersey Devils are the other.

▪ Ryan Lomberg on Monday played in his 200th career NHL game.