EDMONTON — It is easy to forget that Paul Maurice’s hire as head coach in Florida wasn’t universally praised.
The Panthers in 2021-22 had just captured the Presidents’ Trophy and led the NHL in goals scored, but Bill Zito believed his team needed to transform itself from an offensively minded group to a defensively conscious, two-way outfit that could win the right way in the playoffs.
Saturday night in a pivotal Game 5 at Rogers Place was yet another example of what the Panthers’ GM and president of hockey operations was hoping when he made the coaching switch three years ago. In their biggest moment of the season yet, after blowing a three-goal lead the previous game, Florida’s DNA took over with a defensive masterclass.
That, in a nutshell, is why Maurice was hired three years ago.
“I can’t say enough about him as a coach,’’ Zito told The Athletic after the 5-2 win over the Oilers, giving Florida a 3-2 series lead. “And you’re right, when he first came, a lot of people threw us under the bus. You’d be surprised who threw us under the bus.
“I think it’s one of the first things he said is, ‘Hey, it’s going to take us a little while, we’re going to have to be patient with this,’’’ he added. “He’s a great tactician, a great motivator, a great man. He’s a coach that the guys don’t want to disappoint. So it’s easy to execute what you’re being taught.’’
That was a clinic Saturday night. The Panthers threw a blanket on the high-octane Oilers. There was little free ice for Edmonton. The Panthers suffocated them. And this time, the league’s best closers did just that after taking a 3-0 lead.
“Our pressure, we were great on the forecheck, we pressured the D, and we did a pretty good job limiting the big guys’ chances, just keeping them to the outside for the most part,’’ Panthers center Sam Bennett, who scored his playoff-leading 15th goal, said postgame.
All of which goes back to this team’s organic instincts when it matters most. It’s not just about Selke Trophy king Aleksander Barkov; it’s all four forward lines committing to that two-way mantra.
“Having four lines that can be put out in any situation is massive,’’ Bennett said. “It spreads the ice out a lot more and keeps every line fresher.’’
What’s so scary about this team is that they’re also deeper offensively than they’ve ever been. Trade deadline acquisition Brad Marchand scored twice Saturday night and now has six goals in the Cup final. Florida leads all playoff teams at 4.05 goals per game, while of course also leading all playoff teams with the lowest goals against per game at 2.50.
Brad Marchand scored two goals for the Panthers in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. (Jamie Squire / Getty Images)
They’re the ultimate two-way threat.
“I think when we’re moving like we are, we’re supporting the puck both offensively and defensively, that’s when we’re at our best,’’ said star forward Sam Reinhart, who scored his seventh of the playoffs.
“We talk about taking away their time and space and making them as uncomfortable as we possibly can, that’s where our focus is.’’
Again, this is a Panthers team that led the league with 337 goals in 2021-22 before Maurice got his hands on them.
Their metamorphosis into what they’ve become is incredible. There is zero cheat in this team’s game.
“Certainly, it’s the mindset of the group, we’ve all bought into it,’’ Reinhart said. “It feels like when we’re defending at our best, we have the puck a little bit more.’’
Maurice, of course, wants nothing to do with pointing two thumbs into his chest. He refuses to take any credit for it.
But I did ask him postgame Saturday night about thinking back to when he took over. The Panthers struggled for several months and barely made the playoffs in 2022-23 before their run to the Stanley Cup Final. Some of that was injuries, but a lot of it was his transformation of the way the team played, taking a long time to take hold and become instinctual in his players’ minds.
“Well, we were close to our identity, it’s a hard thing to establish, it’s a hard thing to get to,’’ Maurice said in looking back at when he took over. “… It took longer than we thought, probably because I was trying to marry two ideas, trying to keep the whatever we had, 337 goals the year before, marry it to another game.
“I’m not trying to be humble here. This is all about the compete of the players,” added Maurice, who signed a five-year extension which kicks in next season. “When the captain of your team wins Selke awards, that’s the foundation of your game.’’
And while the on-ice transformation began three years ago, so did the cultural shift. The Panthers, over time, became such a close-knit group. Their confidence grew with each playoff year. There’s a swagger about them that’s unmistakable when you spend enough time around them.
All of which is why no one should have been surprised the Panthers came up big Saturday night. They are the road warriors, after all, tying the NHL record with a 10th road win in one Cup year. They’re now a ridiculous 25-11 on the road since the start of the ’23 playoffs.
Saturday morning, there was such a happy-go-lucky vibe emanating from the Panthers at their optional skate, it was hard to figure out which team had just blown a three-goal lead two days earlier.
The only thing missing was a Panthers player puffing on a cigarette.
Any other team in the NHL, and the events from Game 4 would have probably had some form of carry-over, especially with a short turnaround.
But panic is not a word in the Panthers’ vocabulary. Too much experience, too many playoff lessons learned, win or lose, the defending champs sounded so comfortable Saturday morning about where the series was at.
“I think it’s just the experience of the last three years,’’ Bennett said postgame Saturday night. “That, and we know the talent and the depth of this team and we draw confidence from each other. We’re not relying on a couple of guys; we got four lines, six D and an incredible goalie back there.
“We have the most confidence in this room.’’
These guys just don’t get rattled.
“I think the calm is because they work hard and they know that they’re prepared,’’ said Zito, the team’s architect.
I go back to something veteran Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad said to me the night Florida fell behind 2-0 in their second-round series with the Maple Leafs in Toronto.
“We’re well-equipped to handle this situation with veteran leadership,’’ Ekblad said. “A lot of guys have been in this situation. So, we’re not worried. It’s playoff hockey. Home-ice advantage, they won two at home, so what?’’
So what.
That stuck with me that entire series as the Panthers came back to win four of the next five games to knock off the Leafs. Who says “so what’’ when down 2-0 in a series?
Game 4 in Florida felt like one of those historical comeback moments for the Oilers. Surely the Panthers’ confidence would finally be shaken, even a little?
Yeah, no.
This series isn’t over, and wouldn’t it be just like the Oilers to win Game 6 in Florida to force the seventh game we all thought we’d be getting before this thing started?
And if that does happen, just know the Panthers won’t blink an eye preparing for Game 7. They’ve seen it all.
(Top photo: Jeff Vinnick / Getty Images)
