admin
Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov wins two major NHL honors
Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov wins two major NHL honors
- Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice emphasizes the importance of discussing and reflecting on past experiences, especially in high-pressure situations like the Stanley Cup Final.
- Maurice promised to get a “Vamos Gatos” tattoo if the Panthers won the 2023 Stanley Cup Final against Vegas.
Add experience to Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice’s list of things he is not a big believer in, but not quite to the extent of how he feels about momentum.
After watching how his team handled the disappointment of relinquishing the lead to the Edmonton Oilers with less than 18 seconds remaining in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, and having to regroup for an overtime that could have meant falling behind 0-2, Maurice put a condition on his thoughts.
“I’m not a huge believer in experience unless you talk about it, unless you draw on it,” Maurice said the morning after the Panthers’ 5-4 double-overtime victory that evened the series at 1 as it heads to South Florida for Game 3.
“But there’s a truth to that. We’ve had some tough ones, the three years of playoffs these men have been through you’re going to have some tough nights, you’re going to have some games get away.”
Maurice referenced the 2024 Cup Final. After taking a 3-0 lead over the Oilers, Florida was manhandled in Game 4, losing 8-1, and two games later lost 5-1 as Edmonton forced a Game 7.
But the Panthers rebounded from three straight losses and were steady in a 2-1 Game 7 win at home resulting in their first championship.
Maurice believes that experience showed when the Panthers recovered from the Oilers late goal, and fought through an inconsistent first overtime period, which then allowed them to come out strong in the second OT, which ended at 8:05 on Brad Marchand’s breakaway goal.
“I didn’t love the first period of our overtime, I thought we got better as it built,” he said. “But careful about critiquing that because it’s a tough way to get to overtime with 17 seconds (to play in regulation). That’s tough.
“So they held in period four and I do think having enough veteran guys who have been kicked enough times that they understand what that feels like and then they can come out and they settle.”
Forward Matthew Tkachuk describing the mood between the end of regulation and start of overtime in Game 2 shows a team that was drawing on those experiences.
“It was the opposite of what you guys probably thought was going on in the locker room,” he said. “We were upbeat, joking around, picking guys who we thought were going to score. We were having some fun.”
The win was Florida’s ninth on the road in the 2025 postseason, one shy of the record held by six teams.
Paul Maurice reveals how he came close to getting a tattoo
Maurice was asked about the Panthers popularity in the Hispanic community, which is partly illustrated by the number of shirts worn by fans that read ‘Vamos Gatos’ (Let’s Go Cats), when he told a story about the 2023 Stanley Cup Final.
Maurice promised if the Panthers beat the Vegas Golden Knights he would get a ‘Vamos Gatos’ tattoo.
The Panthers lost in five games.
“That’s kind of almost a silver lining of us losing to Vegas, that would have been painful,” Maurice joked.
Maurice continued about how unique it is to coach an NHL team in South Florida.
“There’s this connection here in South Florida that is different because it is non- traditional,” Maurice said. “Where it’s great is when you get families involved.”
Maurice lives close to the Panthers facility in Fort Lauderdale and often walks to practice. He loves seeing the kids carrying their hockey bags into the facility, which is public.
“It’s a cross section of different people, different families, different communities,” he said. “It’s fantastic. I’m glad that we can share our game with everybody and it’s wonderful to see and I didn’t have to get a tattoo to do it.”
Tom D’Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.
#Florida #Panthers #Paul #Maurice #talks #overtime #win #Edmonton
