Paul Maurice, ECF Morning Skate: Florida Panthers at New York Rangers, Game 5

no no but Bill zto has twins so that’s a whole different world he was explaining the uh the first few weeks at home with two newborns but just great huge smile as you can imagine walking in the room full of joy there was there everybody’s really healthy but there had been some potential concerns there so it just turned out great he’s uh mom’s doing great uh kids are good so it uh as you all know everything changes and it never goes back the same so he’s in the world with the rest of us now and then uh looking at the game just what is the mindset heading now now becomes a best of three series here starting on the road I think in general the first four games the team that loses the last game somehow has a bit of an emotional Advantage but you get into five six and seven and that the desperation the finality you can start to feel it so 48 hours from now a very good team is going to be facing elimination and you can feel that the desperation will be high for both teams today right side front row coach all your years coaching back to Windsor Carolina in 02 in the finals last year with these guys is the tension the pressure the feeling at this moment any different for you it’s different every year because your journey to get there is different it it felt just follow this year it felt like they were we knew we would do the work the players would do the work but there was a certain confidence that we were getting to the playoffs and it’s harder than you think to make the playoffs but I think we felt that that was going to happen so there’s a sense on from this team is they’ve been preparing for the playoffs the whole season so then when you get there and there are now expectations that maybe I mean there weren’t last year we didn’t know we were making it till the last week so the expectation was different and there also I think there’s also a greater sense of hope um we were losing bodies left and right last year and it was we were just hanging on and scratching and clawed and um this year we’ve been fortunate so far to be healthy and and there’s a lot of Hope left side front row Paul um you’ve had a decent amount of quality chances against shurin and I’m curious as to how you would assess the way he has played particularly in the clutch moments in this series and where do you think the series may be if you were facing a lesser goenda I think he’s been fantastic in this series I think Sergey boski has been as well and when I leave if you’re interested you can ask anybody who from Florida will tell you I don’t know anything about go ending and I openly admit that daily I read body language out of our own guys I I try to manage certain things in minutes other than that I don’t know why you would play the position I don’t know I I don’t know any weaknesses what I look at a goal an say hey we should shoot here I the goal tending that we’ve faced in the playoffs so far has been absolutely fantastic right side second row Paul first any lineup changes no sir and uh with the fourth L how did you feel that ooso and Lawrence did in I liked them I I like that they generated some a few good chances I like their Zone time very much liked having Steve Lauren I think he I think Steve was six and one on the faceoffs last game so that really helps St them they’ve got a very strong Faceoff team so I thought in the pieces of the game that we asked them to be good I was happy with their game right side second row Paul I know you’ve said that in terms of Game Day messages you don’t really talk to the team much you get most of what you need to say the day before in the video room is there going to be any kind of message heading into this game or they just you know they’ve been here they’ve been the veteran group oh we talk every day the off days we usually reserve for five on five and that would be more of a theme where we’re trying to fix something or or improve on something or certainly reinforce something that we like and then today yeah there’s a theme every day we go we do go off the maybe a more general idea of this is how we have to play but we’re also very specific and this was what was good last game these are things we got to be aware of tonight and that we need to get better at front right Mike uh uh Paul in uh game two kulov had a PK clear that skipped on the ice and went into the Rangers bench like it was a rock on a lake and and I think you kind of subtly mentioned the ice the other day on ESPN hasn’t been great here how how does it how does it change if if it’s going to continue like that and like do you have to change your style at all and be more direct or not at all I think it’s more of a relative statement very impressed with the ice in Florida I me you were there it’s 100 whatever degrees it’s hot it’s humid and the ice in there is brilliant there’s no expectation of perfect ice in this building it’s part of what makes this building great but it’s you New York Rangers have found a way to be a very Dynamic offensive team so you can play hockey on this this is fine the only the only specific thing I think you see and I wouldn’t I wouldn’t I’m not going to bring up another city but there’s another place out there where the ice gets bad at a certain period of time you can almost count on in a period by the 10-minute Market it’s going to be rough and and the home team there does start going to The Flipper more but they they don’t make nearly as many direct passes once the ice gets bad and it gets into a foot race which actually can be pretty dangerous and pretty exciting take three more questions front left I know uh we get kind of a kick out of the the stuff that you may say whether it’s on the interviews or or whatever here but the players also seem to and you know we were talking we were talking about these high pressure situations and being able to keep a smile on your face how much of that do you read them how much of that is calculated where you kind of let them know hey you know it’s time to kind of like be a little lighter I guess well I guess it’s I would I would answer the questions I try to feel the room over the course of a day what do they need I missed the Bold I think early on this year last year we had like a really funny team I thought or at least they thought I was funny which I appreciated the goodish beard would shake you know um these guys are a little more serious so I think I probably toned it down a little bit with them what do they need is is kind of the question in my head what do they need for me what’s the tone of our day so we have lots of days where it’s not funny if we don’t like the way we’ve played we deal with it and and directly um respectfully but those are those are direct days I think it all I’m trying to do other than read the team is to make sure everybody understands what an incredible time this is it’s true you get older you start to understand how fleeting it is and you also understand how hard it is to get there and sometimes the enormity of the pressure it keeps you from it’s not even enjoying it it’s it’s just being in the moment not worrying about the last mistake you made not worryed about the next shift on the ice just play the game be present um but God you you got to make sure you take it in there’s no point in this we we start working the coaches you know late August early September you take a couple of days off at Christmas you take three or four days off at the All-Star break and after that that’s all you do is work why so we get here you got to be able to find some joy in this and I want the players to feel that for me too two more questions right side third row just making sure very hi’s okay looked like he took a in the mouth or something like that or tipped one off Bob’s head and took it yeah he just took a couple stitches he’s fine and then back right Christen last question Paul just sort of on what you were talking about with the tone and you sensing the tone of the group who are maybe the players that you’ve seen Step Up kind of setting that tone where the expectations were higher this year there maybe is a bit more seriousness is there guys that you see really setting that tone for them yeah the answer is yes and I could talk about each one of them differently but that’s the that is the value of bark off because your most talented player and we have we have a lot of different unusually talented guys Matthew’s hands are on the net for heggy forsling defensive stick but barkov because he is the face the driver and the captain does set a bar for work now look at your fourth line guys are going to come out and and work as hard as they because they have to make the team but how hard he drives the team is the expectation of everybody else and and they are connected to him so he’s not an aloof Captain he’s he’s part of the group so he sets that tone so this goes back to me for training camp he will not stop and he won’t quit how does anybody else that that’s the value of that kind of Captain

Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice speaks before his team plays the New York Rangers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final on Thursday, May 30, 2024.

Florida pulled out a 3-2 overtime win against the visiting New York Rangers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference final on Tuesday.

The best-of-7 series is tied 2-2; Game 5 is at Madison Square Garden on Thursday at 8 (ESPN).

Reinhart Gets Another OT Goal, Ties Series: https://floridahockeynow.com/florida-panthers-3-new-york-rangers-2-ot-reinhart-winner-ecf/

Sour Florida Panthers Know Today is a New Day: https://floridahockeynow.com/florida-panthers-sour-after-game-3-loss-todays-a-new-day/

The Panthers Have an Igor Shesterkin Problem: https://floridahockeynow.com/igor-shesterkin-is-a-big-problem-for-the-florida-panthers/

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On Tuesday, Florida trailed 1-0 going into the second but got goals from Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe to take a lead into the third.

New York tied it in the third — but Sam Reinhart won it 1:12 into overtime.

Sergei Bobrovsky had 21 saves in the win.

New York had been 4-0 in OT games this postseason — including the past two wins against the Panthers.

——

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