He hangs back for a second, and adjusts his black winter coat and matching knit cap. Then, with a smile, he greets a waiting reporter for a walking interview on the way to the bus.

The Blue Jackets are in full hustle mode to leave, and most of Bobrovsky's teammates have begun trekking through the bowels of the arena, inhaling sub sandwiches and potato chips along the way. Bobrovsky, whom everybody around here calls, "Bob," is nonplussed as they file out ahead of him.

It's Wednesday afternoon, and Columbus has just returned to American Airlines Center after a snappy dress-and-drive practice in Farmer's Branch, Texas, a Dallas suburb.

Sergei Bobrovsky is one of the last guys out of the Blue Jackets' locker room.

It's classic Bobrovsky, who knows two things at that moment.

First, he knows that he's pushing it with just a couple minutes to go before the bus is scheduled to leave. Second, he knows he'll make it in time, the same way he knows he'll usually save the day when it's needed most in net.

"I like that pressure, you know?" he says of goaltending. "That's my job, and it's fun to be a part of it. Goalies, you know, you have to be ready. It's an important figure on the team, and I enjoy it."

He's enjoyed it for eight seasons now in the NHL, the past six with the Blue Jackets - who will go for a sweep of their two-game road trip Thursday when they face the Colorado Avalanche at Pepsi Center in Denver.

Just 29-years old, Bobrovsky is still in his prime. He's the spine of a young, talented team in Columbus, and is also a 200-game winner now, after reaching that career milestone with 21 saves in the Blue Jackets' 2-1 victory Tuesday against the Dallas Stars.

He acknowledges the accomplishment is special, but doesn't dote on it. There isn't time for it, what with a bus waiting to whisk him away to the airport and another big game.

"It's definitely a good milestone, I would say," Bobrovsky says, hunching his shoulders. "I'm still in the process and progress, and I don't really have time to feel satisfied by that. [Thursday] is another game. It's another big game for us, so I'm looking forward to performing in this game."

That doesn't mean he won't look back, though.

The news that he's only the fourth Russian goalie in NHL history to record 200 wins is beginning to register in his mind. He's asked if he can name the other three, and ticks them off one at a time, with little problem.

"Pretty sure one is Nabokov," he says, correctly referring to Evgeni Nabokov, who finished his NHL career with 353 wins playing from 1999 to 2015 for the San Jose Sharks, New York Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning.

"Khabibulin is another," Bobrovsky says, correctly naming Nikolai Khabibulin, who had 333 career victories from 1994 to 2014 playing for the Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets and Phoenix Coyotes.

"Who's the third one?" Bobrovsky's asked.

"Maybe … Bryz?" he says, awaiting confirmation.

Right again.

Ilya Brzgalov finished his NHL career with 221 wins, playing from 2001 to 2015 for the Anaheim Ducks, Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, Oilers and Minnesota Wild.

"Those guys are top goalies, top Russian goalies who I watched growing up," Bobrovsky said. "Not that I watched closely, on video or anything like that, but definitely I knew their names and I dreamed to be in the same group."

He is now, officially. Unofficially, he's been their peer for a while.

"He's the backbone of our team," defenseman Zach Werenski says. "He steals a ton of games for us, he keeps us in a lot of games and he gives us that extra confidence when we know he's back there in net. You can play a little more confidently and make plays, because you know 'Bob's' back there if anything happens."

That kind of confidence is usually reserved for goalies who've been awarded for their excellence, and Bobrovsky is no exception.

He's already won the Vezina Trophy twice, as the best goalie in the NHL, and won't turn 30 until September. He also backstopped the Blue Jackets to their franchise-record 108 points last season and made his NHL All-Star debut, which he's in the running to do again.

In short, Bobrovsky has become the lynchpin the Blue Jackets have affixed their Stanley Cup dreams to, knowing that all it might take to hoist the chalice some day is one superb "Bob-esque" run through the playoffs.

"You don't win in this league without elite goaltending, and this organization has been very lucky to have a guy like this, [who] stands in there," says Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella, who's still a little hacked off the Jackets couldn't overcome one of Bobrovsky's rare off nights recently in Ottawa. "That's what bothers me the most in that Ottawa game, is that our team couldn't stand in there for him, when he had some struggles in that game … where 'Bob' has saved our [butt] so many times this year."

He pauses for a beat, and adds a capper to that thought.

"That's what it is, that's how you win in this league," Tortorella says, thinking of other elite goalies he's coached over the years. "It's such a unique position in professional sports. There's so much pressure that goes into that position, and we've got one of the best."