Panthers coach Paul Maurice’s hilarious explanation for lighting up team during Game 5 loss to Bruins
After three straight victories to take a commanding 3-1 series lead, the Florida Panthers failed to close out the Boston Bruins at home yesterday. The 2-1 defeat means Paul Maurice and the Panthers will have to travel back to Boston on Friday in hopes of closing the series out or risk a Game 7.
Maurice tried his best to avoid a Game 6 in Boston, as evident by a second-period outburst. During a TV timeout about six minutes into the second period, Maurice took a moment to lay into his team, which trailed 1-0, on the bench. Amidst his yelling, Maurice’s head turned bright red. But it worked.
Moments after the Panthers returned to the ice, Sam Reinhart scored a game-tying goal, which earned a fist pump from Maurice on the bench.
After the game, Maurice explained why he lit up his players like he did.
“I don’t know the exact words of the message,” Maurice said. “I felt that — eh, I wasn’t mad at ’em, I understood what they were going through. I just thought they needed some profanity in their life, and I brought some. I don’t excel at a lot of things in my life, but f–k me, am I good at that? You see how I did that?
“We were grinding gears a little bit. Because I think we have a handful of things that we’re really, really good at. We come to the rink, and that’s all we spend our time talking or doing. … I thought we got it out of first gear. It’s not like we’re down 3-0 and we kind of make it 3-2 but you run out of real estate. It’s 1-0 after the first. That’s pretty good for us, I think. Just couldn’t get ‘er going.”
Panthers facial crucial Game 6 after loss to Bruins
It seems a 3-1 lead is the most dangerous lead in a series involving the Boston Bruins. The Florida Panthers came out on the winning side of last year’s first-round series with Boston, which led 3-1 before dropping Game 5 in overtime at home. Game 6 turned into a 12-goal offensive masterclass before the Panthers prevailed, again in overtime, in Game 7 to complete the comeback. The Bruins nearly suffered the same fate in the first round this year, with the team losing Games 5 and 6 before edging out the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime in Game 7.
The Panthers now have the opportunity to ensure Boston cannot make a 3-1 comeback of their own, but it won’t be easy, despite some recent results. Florida was blown out 5-1 at home before responding with a one-sided 6-1 win in Game 2. In Boston, the Panthers dominated the Bruins in Game 3 with a 6-2 blowout before a tight and competitive Game 4 in which Florida trailed 2-0 in the first period. Two third-period goals gave the Panthers just enough to get by the Bruins and put Boston completely on the backfoot.
After Game 5, though, the momentum may be shifting. Beating a team on the road once is tough and doing it twice is very rare. Doing it three times in a single series is incredibly unlikely, but the Panthers did just that last year against Boston, and they will have a chance to do it again on Friday.
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