Sergei Bobrovsky finally explains what happened during Gavin McKenna's rookie lap incident
Photo credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Sergei Bobrovsky has finally cleared the air on the rookie lap mix-up in Toronto.
The Maple Leafs goaltender said Friday that he simply forgot about the tradition when he hit the ice before Gavin McKenna on opening night, and he insists there was nothing behind it.
McKenna, the first overall pick in this year's draft, made his NHL debut Tuesday in a 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens.
Bobrovsky was playing his first game as a Leaf after signing as a free agent this summer, following seven seasons with the Florida Panthers.
The video, shared by Sportsnet, blew up Tuesday night with more than half a million views in a few hours.
Bobrovsky explains the mix-up
According to David Alter of The Hockey News, Bobrovsky said it never crossed his mind in the moment.
He also went over to McKenna and told him so, then joked that he was treating the night like it was his own first game too.
He stressed it was not on purpose and called it a pure accident.
"I just completely forgot. I didn't think about. I completely forgot. I came to him and I also told him. So I pretended that it was my first game too. But no, I didn't mean to do that. So it just happened by incident (accident)."
- Sergei Bobrovsky
- Sergei Bobrovsky
Plenty of fans assumed it was goalie superstition, since many netminders like to be first onto the ice.
Bobrovsky made it clear that wasn't what happened.
Moving on from the lap
McKenna had a quiet debut, finishing minus-2 with one shot on goal in 15:19 of ice time.
Bobrovsky stopped 21 shots in his first Leafs game.
Bobrovsky also said he really felt bad that it took some of the shine off McKenna's big NHL night.
Still, it's a funny story he'll probably hear about for a while, and McKenna's focus is on getting better as the season rolls along.
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