Paul Maurice, Florida Panthers Morning Skate: Game 6 vs. New York Rangers

Paul Maurice, Florida Panthers Morning Skate: Game 6 vs. New York Rangers

the connection that you have with your own players there is a protection and a lot of it’s not he’s not gaming you he’s not trying to find an advantage for the next game that’s from the heart and soul you take that personally you know that Series has had considerable momentum swings in it right we team of moments of Domination by either team to pick out the piece that maybe your team wasn’t dominant I don’t I don’t think is relatively accurate to the way that it’s play it so I understand understand it I mean you’re fighting with your other s you would stand up for the word lifeless like yeah felt it but and then the reason that resonates because it’s the truth and you can tell about it’s how he felt do you think though that was meant for his team to hear a little bit because he answered the question and then like the second wave it was like you just get wound up some sometimes you can’t shut it off right get it into third gear sometimes you just want to slip it into fourth there um no I I I I I don’t think that was calculated okay jamus can go ahead front left uh coach your team’s played a lot of these closeout games over the last two years whenever we talk to players it’s always the same thing it’s always treated like a regular game how hard or easy is that to do do you think in these situations well you want to get good at it have some practice at it I think I’m not a huge believer in momentum at all um so both teams have a have an energy source here tonight they have the advantage of the desperation source and then maybe I don’t know if I got the right word we have the desire both teams want to play in an intelligent I call it the frequency but a band a wavelength that you want to operate in so you you want to make sure you’re not below it uh where desperation or desire makes you tight at the same time you can’t operate a above that band where your risk profile changes for them it would be the idea of making plays regardless of the cost and for us it would be trying to make that one killer play or maybe it’s the exact same concept is trying to make a play to change the momentum of game every time you touch the puck right that’s for me would be above the north border of what’s right so both teams have an energy source they’re going to try to adhere to their identity as best as possible and you want to stay probably as close as close as you can the upper limit of that intelligent band back right Paul you’ve got a suy winner a BNA winner a bunch of allst stars and allstar MVP in there a bunch of guys who played for the Cup last year and blah blah blah blah blah what was it about this group that they never skipped steps and you’ve been saying that since Camp they really never skipped a step this year what what is it about this room that said we’re not better than we think we are for whatever reason yeah that’s leadership in the room like when you look at minutes of coaching right your actual interaction with the team it’s not very minutes very minutes during the day what what happens to your team is decided upon by the men and it’s in we talk about a lot it starts in day one a training camp right how hard does the 13th man go and then what what’s said in between periods I mean I’m in there for a minute and a half right all the important things are done when the coaches aren’t in the room and they have they showed up to Camp determined and focused and that’s who they’ve been all year we had we had three blocks of the year I think what we didn’t really love our game and it was all hands on deck they weren’t casual with it at all so mostly what we do as coaches I think right now is react to the personality we are reactive in some ways to our group there’s only a handful of times with this group I felt we really needed to be proactive and take the lead for them for the most part we just played off them serious group guys and they love each other left side second row we’ve seen Bennett taking face offs now more where have you SE obviously he must be feeling better you seen that in other part what part other parts of this game have you seen where that’s maybe been showing well he he he doesn’t think about it now he’s healed so it’s it’s he’s back taking faceoffs we still have the option for the righty and that’s why Evan Rodriguez goes in because he’s been strong on the right side and then there isn’t any protectionist on the ice there’s he’s just playing the game his effort level like he didn’t he just couldn’t do as much three weeks ago um to compete the effort never changed like he as consistent a driver as we have that his game looks pretty much the same in terms of how hard he plays every single night every practice it’s what he is but he’s back to the point I don’t think about it like for me he’s healed 100% I don’t think about it on the bench anymore and I don’t think he ever has St row George we hear a lot about people talking about how good your defense is and maybe it seems surprising to him but you guys gave up the fewest goals in the League this year asn’t a winner suky winner should people be surprised that you guys are as good defensively as you are in this postseason well your numbers are always going to change right because when you cut 16 teams out right you don’t have any nights where you shut teams down without a whole lot of heavy work I guess I feel it’s funny that you and that’s a focus Force right it’s it’s it’s a cardinal Focus um I think we’re a better offensive team than people know and better than we’ve shown it’s not from a lack of effort we’ve hit three big time goal tending performances here but I think I thought vasileski kind of went under the radar and I left it there didn’t mention it very much because I didn’t think I needed to have him have a bigger Persona in our room based on the three years did you go back two or three years ago that series that was one before I came in the one before that FL P was pretty good hockey team in that series and he was incredible so I I think we played a pretty good offensive game and we don’t we don’t have the numbers to show for them that’s fine but because it’s not the first thing we we attempt to do left side second row hi Paul um Going Back 40 years there’s only been one team it’s going to be a long answer no there there’s only been one team that has made it to the final round lost and then made it back to the final round the next year why do you think you won’t find a streak like that in any of the other American team sports why do you think it’s so hard to make it this far in the NHL and what what gives you confidence that your team is going to be able to take that extra step tonight so I won’t think about those two things at all like I didn’t know that uh I’ll take a chunk of that first and and I’m going to qualify with I don’t understand other sports I haven’t lived the life I haven’t been a part of what it’s like to be on a football team and the kind the physical toll it takes on them but our sport certainly is unique in the 82 game full contact and then it rises to a completely different level I don’t know basketball and I don’t know football I don’t know if there’s another level on baseball it’s not that kind of sport I think there’s a a major physical toll um and and I also think probably you if you top out this wouldn’t be true though cuz 40 years but if you top out at the let’s see you make it to the final I don’t know how many teams actually get better the next year because you’re usually paying a bunch of guys because they got to the final and their salary cap changes and now you’ve got you know you’ve got a you’re going to lose some guys our hockey team got better from from last year to this year we had good men last year and I still love that year and I’ll love that year separately and differently than any other year that I’ve coached but we got better right we added we added three NHL defenseman and we added apparently killing right shot forward so our hockey team is better this year one more right side Mike uh just on one guy that was here last year Montour um just he seems to do everything for you he he has every time we talk to him he’s got this infectious personality just how important has he been on highly overrated yeah um just uh what does he add on and off the eyes for you well he’s got this great personality and he’s got a huge tank so about day three of training camp last year I’m getting to know all these guys and I’m watching this guy skate around he’s got a smile on his face at the end and I’m thinking you can’t be smiling at this point this has been way too hard so I kind of grabbed him and said you know like to see you push a little harder more kind of looked at me he was great about it you know and then I started watched him oh my God can this guy Escape he’s smiling because he can handle all this so he’s got this big tank on him very fit man and I I think for me he’s found his place that’s how I feel about him he’s so much like possibly all of us right with certainly the guys in the room have come to a place where that specific thing that he does very well he skates so very well um and he uses it on both sides I think he had seven hits in game four he uses on both sides of the puck that he can be himself and then his personality is important in our room because he is he’s funny right and he’s got stuff to say when things are tense he’s still talking he can live in the moment he a really really important part of what we do other than the bad attitude late for practice every day that’s that’s what I say about best fors like now I know it’s not he’s the best fman in the world all you got to do is sign and you get your own marketing program I’m up here your time July there you go any any changes no changes tonight Pa thank you thanks

Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice speaks before his team plays host to the New York Rangers on Saturday, June 1, 2024.

The Panthers beat the New York Rangers 3-2 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final on Thursday night.

Florida holds a 3-2 series lead; Game 6 is Saturday at 8 (ABC) in Sunrise.

The Panthers are a win away from going to the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight year.

Panthers Bringing a 3-2 Lead Home After Beating Rangers in Game 5: https://floridahockeynow.com/florida-panthers-3-new-york-rangers-2-game-5-nhl-ecf/

Panthers, Rangers Living On the Razor’s Edge: https://floridahockeynow.com/panthers-rangers-living-on-the-edge-in-razor-thin-series/

Don’t Tell the Florida Panthers What’s Ahead: https://floridahockeynow.com/florida-panthers-focused-on-new-york-rangers-not-stanley-cup-final/

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On Thursday, Florida trailed 1-0 in the second before Gus Forsling tied it on a great pass from Sam Bennett.

Midway through the third, Anton Lundell gave Florida its first lead — with Bennett making it 3-1 on an empty-net goal.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 25 saves in the win.

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