(Fort Lauderdale) Paul Maurice arrived at the Florida Panthers training center on Tuesday in a much better mood than the day before, by his own admission.
“I was a little on edge… but I don’t think I was on edge? “, he explained Tuesday at the club’s training center in Fort Lauderdale.
However, the head coach of the Panthers would have many reasons not to be super happy.
As the third game of this Stanley Cup final approaches, which will be presented Thursday evening in Edmonton, Maurice may have to make do without one of his best players, Aleksander Barkov. The Panthers forward was hit in the head Monday night by Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl, a hit that took him out of the game and could also take out any coach of its hinges.
But not Paul Maurice, who affirms that this page has already been turned.
“It’s behind us,” he repeated. People in the league are used to reviewing all the plays that happen during a game, and then they make a decision. We don’t think about that anymore, and I’m going to stay out of it, it’s over. »
It appears that Draisaitl will not be suspended for this charge. In Barkov’s case, his state of health remains an immediate mystery.
“He arrived with us here this morning, and his condition has not worsened, which is really a good thing,” Paul Maurice simply said. We will know more [mercredi], but if he continues to make progress, we should be in a good position. He got checked out, he feels good. But we will have to wait another 24 hours to find out more. »
Basses
On this subject, there was also a lot of talk about the many mean things that the players of the two teams exchanged during Monday evening’s meeting at Sunrise, the second of this final.
Fans of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts were served, since we were able to see, in turn, blows to the knees, blows in the matches, and then finally, a player, Aaron Ekblad, who tried to apply the sleep hold to a rival, Evan Bouchard. Pat Patterson would no doubt have been proud.
Paul Maurice believes that this is part of the reality of NHL hockey.
“The referees imposed three or four penalties [lundi soir] on actions that I don’t consider to be so serious… I’m not complaining. We want checking to be part of the game. We played season games against Boston that were as intense as our playoff games, with the exception of maybe the six playoff games we played against them , which were some of the most intense and nasty I’ve ever seen. »
I don’t think this series is that physical. The game is very fast; from the bench, I watch it go, and then the two teams go really fast, the transition game is something, but I don’t see these scrimmages that never end like we saw during our series against Boston .
Paul Maurice
While waiting to know if they can bet on Barkov or not, the Panthers must continue to prepare, because they know very well that this nice 2-0 lead in the series could disappear just as quickly, especially since the two next games will be presented at the Oilers home. This season, the Alberta club has lost only nine games in regulation time in front of its fans.
“We expect them to respond,” admitted Paul Maurice. There is an advantage like that when you go back to play two matches at home, there is the adrenaline that kicks in. Everyone understands that there are no more 10 games left in this season. We’re a good team on the road, and they’re good at home. I’m not going to approach the next match in a very different way. »