Of course, it’s the Florida Panthers playing in the playoffs, and we expect no toughness and clashing on ice? Not happening, especially when it’s Paul Maurice and his squad with the league’s most dominant faces! But the head coach still believes there’s room for improvement. “You know, for a team to continue to grow we actually have to find a way to be better than we were in the third,” he pointed out. After all, amidst the playoff battle against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Panthers did find themselves in the moments of joy with a 6-3 win, but with many suspensions and penalties occurring at the same time.
However, the post-game interview felt more like a window into the soul of the Florida Panthers, where the head coach did more than just recap Game 5 while quietly pulling off the curtain of his locker room. “I think Anton was still 21 at that time. The next year Reinhardt takes off with Barkov, and Tereschenko comes in, and what you—the original driver of that line is Luostarinen. Reinhart and Lundell are very responsible defensively, but there’s more there,” he quoted while offering a thoughtful glimpse into the evolution of the team’s fierceful lineup featuring Anton Lundell, Sam Reinhart, and Eetu Luostarinen.
After all, in the recent game, they proved it while delivering one goal each alongside many assists (Lundell, Luostarinen) that helped the Panthers eliminate the Lightnings in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round. And for Brad Marchand? Well, Maurice made sure he didn’t overlook the impact he gave in the recent game—“And Brad is a higher level of skill—with all due respect—a different level of skill,” he said. And not just because of his two assists in Game 5, but his words had a lot of insight to offer when he spoke of the ex-Bruins star. “Brad’s personality is a really important part of that too; both Eetu and Anton are very quiet guys, serious great competitors, but Brad brings something else out of them. They were fantastic tonight, but they were also really strong in last game as well,” he further stated.
Now that’s a credit that Marchand truly deserves. Because Maurice emphasized his dynamic personality, that kind of motivates his teammates too! While all three tough players’ performances have been stellar, there’s one thing very crucial to note. But what exactly? Well, the growing offensive confidence in the players that would perhaps cost them a lot! And this catches the attention of many key players who got suspended, leading to shaking things up for the team’s lineup with many setbacks.
Suspensions are no big deal for Paul Maurice!
Earlier it was Jesse Puljujarvi who was suspended for two games while making an illegal check to the head against Tampa Bay’s Mitchell Chaffee, and now it’s Aaron Ekblad. The NHL Player Safety on X posted the headline, “Florida’s Aaron Ekblad will have a hearing today for elbowing Tampa Bay’s Brandon Hagel,” the post read. Well, a bittersweet moment for Ekblad when the NHL handed down a two-game suspension to him! Had it not been a hit to Brandon Hagel, things would have been different for the Panthers’ defenseman. But just like Maurice addressed the quality his players delivered on ice, it was Ekblad too who didn’t fumble but managed to score the game-tying goal!
And when the press brought up the suspension talk for Maurice, his response was packed with confidence yet again! “If it’s the first time it happens, there’s even questions from the coaching staff about what’s the right adjustment to making your lineup,” he mentioned while acknowledging that the Panthers would be missing key players regardless, but that doesn’t necessarily have to be a big deal! The coach simply shrugged it off like it’s just an everyday hustle for the team.
And now with the Panthers pulling off a major win in Game 5, don’t they advance to the second round despite one of their players serving a suspension? Stating that, the concern should rather be on their ability to keep up with this momentum without Ekblad on the ice in the coming games! To say that the playoffs are just heating up but the suspension is just one part of the overall game. Because for the Panthers, let’s just say it’s a push that takes them forward now. And for Paul Maurice? He already made it clear—“Now you’ve got a battle on the walls, and we’ll turn some over, and we’ll learn from that.”
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