Paul Maurice, Pregame: Stanley Cup Final, Game 1 – Edmonton Oilers at Florida Panthers

you’ve always talked about kind of the battle of which team can get to their game first and how important that is how much does that get Amplified when both teams have been on for a week well it’s even so it doesn’t matter like the the challenge is the same for both and the context of this isn’t like any other series look at all of you here yesterday’s day is completely different so distractions isn’t the right word because it’s kind of negative it’s uh just contextual there are more layers to all of this so that’s the challenge right get your group as mentally focused as you can with all the extra energy that’s around and then the first game is is really important for that but also it’s really the start in terms of the building blocks and the learning process that both teams will go through for the rest of the series left side third grow you put together a game plan in the 2021 playoffs that was extremely effective at limiting uh McDavid and dry SLE how have those two players evolved since then and how has has a coach game planning for those players of all it’s completely different and of absolutely no value to us now and I’m not and I’m going to say it actually has nothing to do with those two players because they were great then they’re great now so it wasn’t a how they’ve evolved it’s the team game that’s changed the things that we we we identified that we had to combat in that series they’ve run none of those down and I’m telling you the truth there’s nothing there there’s of no value there was no we had some things some rules on certain parts of the ice that that had to happen the game’s not played like that by that team anymore left side second row can you compare today to W up in on game one last season whether that’s emotions Readiness preparedness what’s the differences and similarities I mean we’re completely different set of circumstances right and one of them we had this great big unknown going into game one and that was A2 D we lost him in the third period of game four against Carolina then we had the 10-day block and they didn’t and there’s all those challenges that go to that last year each series was a it was its own complete event and accomplishment by our team like if everybody had to go home after the Boston series what a great year right and then it’s Toronto like it was this is more of a Continuum I think and we’re just healthier what that means to the tonight’s game I I don’t know but in differences you know we had 27 guys on the ice yesterday and um we had about 14 reasonably healthy guys left in that practice the year before right side first row talk a little bit about distractions but does it help you guys at least a little bit that you’re here you didn’t have to wait 10 days number one and then fly to Nevada take buses to Media day everything’s been right here at least to kick this thing off I I hope so but I don’t know in the quiet times where you don’t control your brain and you’re thinking about all the reasons why you’re good CU you saw the same parakeet on your rooftop two days before you beat like like all of their silly little superstitions I don’t know I I think I do think that the end of our season through the Tampa series was really important in the Boston series The Boston series was as physical and nasty a series as we’ve ever been in I’ve ever watched From the Bench um and we were in the State of Florida for almost a calendar month before they did that so we didn’t go in fatigued and and I think that was an advantage there both teams are six weeks into this going to close out on a month grinder I think it’s so even and flat it doesn’t matter left side for throw Paul what’s the what’s the biggest challenge in defending their power play is it simply the talent that they have or do they do things structurally that are a bit different than say what you saw last round I would say it’s more off structure that’s danger everybody has a structure um they have more motion and it’s so it’s off structure it’s almost the creativity part they aren’t casual that’s not the right word they aren’t loose in terms of they’re not all Dynamic no structure very structured but at the end of the day it’s what happens in motion when you saw the first goal in game six against Dallas that would be specifically what I’m talking about everybody’s in the right spots they’re in the right spots 97’s in motion you know exactly where 29 is going to be but the motion is the challenge right side second row knowing that you’re not always a big fire brimstone guy when you walk into the room tonight do you know what you’re going to say you kind of figure it out in real time by the feel of the room I know the feel I want to leave the room with right now I haven’t picked the words yet and I prob that won’t come till later in the day I don’t schedule those other things it all has to be by feel it would be more likely less early than more they don’t need me to say a word to them right like everybody’s wired you don’t you don’t need coffee before the game everybody’s wired get in get out throughout the parck and wearing a suit so it really don’t matter we’ll take two more questions left side second row I’m Paul curious your your thought on the role mental coaches and sports psychologists play in getting these guys to this stage and and maybe how that discipline is changed since you first entered well maybe it it falls in line with the Gap in Tech in the change in technology in our game since I came in so I’m in hardford my first job as an assistant coach was to inventory the video operation six VCRs four TVs and that spread over two buildings that was the entire that was our entire audio visual Department to what we have now the idea of anything mental when I came in was a complete me right no nobody was talking to something but mental health was it’s never a positive word it was I don’t think those two words were put together in the game of hockey other than the guy was mental on the ice um and now it is I I think I think it started to be a positive right you saw skills mental skills coaches but they didn’t want to use Mental Health right you get so they’re still real careful with the words and then in and around co uh probably before mental health started become I think it’s huge finding somebody that works for you is really really important we have Dr Derek Anderson inh house on call here he’s here just about every single day there are I I I will interact with him briefly about hockey about players um just where I think a guy’s at right now yeah is really going seems to be struggling with a something and then that’s a private thing for the players and then we would also have other resources for them but so many of these guys now have teams of people around them in the offseason that they call I think it’s fantastic anything that can help you operate in a non-military pressure environment there are way more pressure jobs than two hockey teams playing for the final right like contextually it’s it’s not that tough we probably all get to the rank on time but to have people around those guys helping them navigate through that I think is great last question left side just double checking no changes every deight yes thank you for that all right see thank you

Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice speaks before his team plays host to the 2024 Stanley Cup Final in Sunrise on Saturday, June 8.

The Panthers will play in the Stanley Cup Final for a second straight year; Edmonton is vying for its sixth title and first since 1990. This is the Oilers’ first trip to the Final since 2006.

Game 1 is Saturday in Sunrise at 8 p.m. (ABC).

Florida Panthers Remember The Sting: https://floridahockeynow.com/florida-panthers-remember-the-sting-of-losing-stanley-cup-final/

Stanley Cup or Bust! Florida Panthers Moving On: https://floridahockeynow.com/stanley-cup-final-florida-panthers-2-new-york-rangers-1-game-6/

Meet the Edmonton Oilers: https://floridahockeynow.com/what-to-know-edmonton-oilers-stanley-cup-final-florida-panthers/

Panthers Have Unfinished Business to Take Care Of: https://floridahockeynow.com/not-finished-florida-panthers-hungry-to-complete-redemption-tour/

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Florida took out the New York Rangers in 6; Edmonton did the same to Dallas.

On Saturday, the Panthers beat the Rangers 2-1.

Florida took a 2-0 lead on goals from Sam Bennett and Vladimir Tarasenko.

Artemi Panarin beat old friend Sergei Bobrovsky (23 saves) to make it a 1-goal lead but the Panthers hung on.

——

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