Paul Maurice, Postgame: Florida Panthers 3, New York Rangers 0 (Game 1)

Paul Maurice, Postgame: Florida Panthers 3, New York Rangers 0 (Game 1)

so what’s really interesting about Sergey is I think he’s still learning and the Tampa series had a whole bunch of that blocks of time without shots and then it’s COV so it would just Spike right they get two or three gray chances uh Savannah jaz’s Power Play Chance on that scene that’s an incredible save I think you have to be a veteran goalie to do what he did tonight sit for a while make huge saves and then since the last 10 minutes of the game that’s where he has to be Sergey so he’s he’s he’s had a bit of this and this kind of almost started happening to us in March where we had really unusual offensive games against us our our defensive game was kind of rounding into shape a little bit so we would get these blocks of time where there wasn’t any action but doesn’t matter I mean you you’re playing the president Trophy winner the best team in the National I think they’re getting theirs and and he was that good uh coach over here um in the back um obviously there’s a lot of leaders in that room but what did it mean for Matthew to be the one throwing those early big hits and getting that first goal just in terms of leading the boys out there tonight yeah they spread it around here we’ve had you know times of kind of the barkoff time and early in in the Tampa series he and Veri Matthew and vergy were really really strong I think for him I think it’s almost our team that the players have kind of come to expect it so it’s not necessarily a huge boost and that oh my God Matthew scored a goal but for him it’s kind of that just gets him cooking front right Mike uh Paul your fourth line tonight gave you some unbelievable shifts you know what what was the key for them I don’t know about the key they were just on the pucking fast and detailed I I agree I don’t I don’t know the why of it they they’ve been good so when you look at our playoff run we’ve had uh AO Comm in and Loren Comm in in the Tampa they scored two huge goals for us in one game and that was the difference so we’ve got this kind of I think I said it earlier there’s a competition for the fourth line until the playoffs and then they’re competing together lots of energy uh it it might be the best game I’ve seen Ryan lomber play so they didn’t score so it’s not that but the technical parts of his game he’s always the energy is always there the physicality is always there but those guys were sharp and on pucks and and uh I I agree with you that would be what I said when I came into the room at the end of the game was just to point out how good that line was for us back left Luke uh you mentioned lomberg what did you think of the goalie interference call I thought it was right because it’s the call I would want on Sergey but the best goalies in the world need a bit of production I don’t think there was any malice in what Ryan did but you get in that deep to the crease and then he is trying to get out and he gets pushed in I get all that but you start that by starting in the crease fairly deep so you know what I I’m sitting on the bench going look at it’s one nothing going into the call if we if if it goes our way it’s to nothing not we’re exactly where we were so I I I thought they got it right I thought they I thought whoever is making that final call thought that was fair I wasn’t complaining about it front right Mark Paul um can you speak to the the early on game that that Matthew had even prior to the goal he laid a couple good hits on and and what did that goal do it seemed to set a tone his physicality and and obviously it was smart because it was shot Off The Rush instead of trying to wait for more find more sometimes it’s just the Simplicity that we need in our game to kind of set a bit of a tone and then we got away from it so after that we had three pucks at the offensive line that we turned over it’s not even a turnover it was a decision that didn’t work necessarily and and what he did I thought tonight is wred our team back to the simple parts of our game so when we’re this is true of you always want to do more right these are the best players in the world and they’re capable of doing more but sometimes the less is just way better and it’s also quite a bit smarter and I thought he led in that department there wasn’t a lot of there wasn’t a lot of creativity in his game that’s not a bad thing most of his special creativity happens in about a three-foot area around him with his wrists and his hands and you go how the hell did he do that how did he tip that puck but it it’s kind of playoff hockey it’s happening so fast out there there’s not a lot of room to create and he didn’t try to push that envelope I thought that was very good of him as a leader especially he’s one guy that we’ve had I think would have 114 points at one time so you look at those players and say that’s where your creativity will come from when he plays a simple game then everybody else can fall in left side second row coach Matthew was just in here and you mentioned that there’s a lot you can improve on I’m sure as a coach you might agree with that but can you just touch on what you like I mean very stingy it seemed like you guys were winning most of the battles out there tonight uh that’s a it’s a fair question and I think it’s accurate his I think his assessment is accurate I don’t know that I want to walk you through what I liked and didn’t like I In fairness that’s kind of we’re look at I I got a really fairly strong idea about what Peter’s going to want to improve in his game and I got one in mine for we got we got a list that we’ve started already going this guy needs to this guy’s got to see video that’s got to change that’s got to change and he’s going to do the exact same thing so there’ll be parts of their game that are going to look way better next game because it’ll become a focus everybody needs the first game the best offense tonight by both teams miss the net that’ll be something everybody looks at right because I’m not sure that the best offense was in the net take three more questions front right Paul the the Rangers talked a lot about how hard it was to get through the neutral zone how hard it for them to hang on to the puck just what made your team so so effective at that that’s kind of the way we play I thought we were just okay with it to be honest with you like I don’t think that we were well we gave up two breakaways that’s a neutral zone problem because there was a guy alone skating with the puck straight through it so that’s we got to fix that I will tell you this all of these games are so close the scor is Almost Doesn’t tell you anything because it’s a turn of a puck it’s a puck that we blocked that they didn’t or or a pass that we made and it’s two or three and that’s the difference so in this building they get one they catch fire right even after the kill I mean the major push came after after their kill and it was a great kill and then I don’t know I cracked a bar it was a show in front of our net and Sergey held that that’s the inflection point for me in the game um we were able to survive that moment two more questions front left this morning this morning you said the uh change to the second line was all about Anton londell and his fit there I mean after tonight’s game I mean how how well can you say he I mean how much did he contribute to the co cohesion of that line uh that looked pretty strong throughout the game it’s plus three at the end of the game he made one play there’s that’s just the C what an ass I was going to say made one play I didn’t like and that’s what I bring up right the guy played a hell of a game he’s plus three and I’m going to bring up the play I didn’t like um you know there’s some leadership going on there too so the things that that make Matthew kachuck special is you can take a guy who’s kind of coming into his third year give him that shot and he’s encouraging that kid on the bench you know he’s directing he’s intense with them so Anton londell feels now as a as a guy in really his second full hard year in the NHL in terms of playoffs um that he can contribute he plays and he drives now his expectations of himself change and that’s that’s not the coaches that’s most important person in a player’s life is the guy sitting beside him especially when you’re young that’s where the real mentorship happens I can tell them about systems and things like that but Matthew will say when you come in under that puck roll your hips under here get under that puck that’s stuff I can’t teach so really like to Anton’s game except for the one play in the second period and then um I think Matthew would be the guy that you have to talk to and Sam Bennett at times as well um for making M he his player at a very young age he was really good tonight our last question on the left side third row coach I know it’s only game one but in the first two rounds against a team like Tampa and Boston where there are some sort of built-in rivalries already you know it seems like there’s a little bit extra after the whistles tonight there wasn’t much of that corre uh especially with your team is that a conscious effort to keep this team off the power play knowing how dangerous it is or or just is it the emotion of the series just beginning I would like to think it’s maturity like that we’ve gotten better that we’ve matured there’s no value in it after there’s a the New York Rangers are a veteran enough team that you are not intimidating them right so the stuff after the whistle there’s of no value and this is a more focused more dis group we’ve been an exceptionally disciplined team from about Midway through the Tampa Series so we it’s not the kind of discipline that we’re running around foolishly we had five high sticking penalties and four tripping penalties like in the first four games of that series and then it just died we just so this isn’t a lack of anger as the series goes there’s going to be a few more flare s that’s true of every series that’s played in the NHL and rivalries are built on playoff series so as as we get through this th this was not a particularly physical game based on our experience but that’s more kind of the teams we happen to hit you hit Boston twice I mean we had 86 hits in the first game of that game one last year and they were all real it was before they adjusted to to the new the new program there was 86 real hits it was the heaviest game I’ve ever seen in my life so it I didn’t find that that was the a story in this game thank you okay everybody thank you

Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice speaks after the Florida Panthers beat the New York Rangers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final on Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in New York.

The Panthers lead the series 1-0; Game 2 is at Madison Square Garden on Friday at 8 (ESPN).

Panthers Shut Down Rangers in Game 1: https://floridahockeynow.com/florida-panthers-3-new-york-rangers-0-game-1-eastern-conference-final-may-22-2024/

Florida Panthers ‘Jacked’ to be at MSG: https://floridahockeynow.com/being-on-stage-at-madison-square-garden-has-florida-panthers-jacked/

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The Panthers are coming off a 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins in the second round. Florida won that best-of-7 series in 6.

On Wednesday, Matthew Tkachuk gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead in the first period off assists from Carter Verhaeghe and Gus Forsling.

That lead stood until the third when Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett each scored.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves in his first shutout since Game 3 against the Carolina Hurricanes exactly one year ago.

Florida is 3-0 in Game 1 of the ECF dating to 1996; the Panthers have also won their past seven ECF games dating to Game 6 against the Penguins in 1996.

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Video Courtesy Florida Panthers