Apparently even clinching a playoff spot won’t keep Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice happy after a loss.
After suffering a 3-2 loss to the New York Islanders on Thursday night, Maurice was quite frustrated with his players, so much that it meant that he was giving the media free reign use anything they think he might say.
“Today is free quote f------ day,” said Maurice in a post-game press conference. “Take whatever you think I might say and use it. I won’t b---- about it.”
On top of a tough performance from the Panthers in Thursday’s loss, they’ve now lost six of their last seven games, which is likely another reason why Maurice isn’t happy with the team at the moment. This slump saw them drop four straight to the Carolina Hurricanes, the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Nashville Predators and the New York Rangers before a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, only to then lose their last two games to the Boston Bruins and the Islanders.
The Panthers had a relatively even period in the first to keep it 1-1 with the Isles, but it was the second period where they really seemed to struggle. Aleksander Barkov got the first goal of the frame 6:32 in, but just 4:10 later, the Isles got two goals from Mathew Barzal and Jean-Gabriel Pageau, giving New York the 3-2 lead that they would then hold for the rest of the game. On top of that, the Isles outshot the Panthers 14-5 and had a 72.33% score-adjusted expected goal share in that period, so it’s safe to say it’s what cost them the game.
In spite of the loss, the Panthers still managed to clinch a playoff spot for what will be the fourth consecutive season for the team. With the Carolina Hurricanes 4-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings, that still gave the Panthers enough of a gap on the non-playoff teams to secure a spot. However, who they play is still well up in the air between their battle for first in the Atlantic Division with the Bruins, the Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs battle for the final division spot, and even with how the wild card matchups end up.
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