Florida Panthers Coach Delivers on His Promise After Tampa Bay Preseason Match

This really shows that the team is bringing its core group back together. It looks like the promise to have veterans ready for the season is actually happening, which is a big deal for a team aiming for a historic three-peat. Before game 3 against the Lightning, Maurice took a moment to reflect about what happened on the ice.

Florida Panthers coach’s candid thoughts after what happened in Game 2

During Game 2 with the Tampa Bay Lightning, something happened halfway through the first period. Florida Panthers forward A.J. Greer cross-checked Brandon Hagel, then it looked like he high-sticked him and threw a punch at his head. Greer got a 10-minute misconduct penalty during the play and later faced a fine of $2,213.54, which is the highest amount allowed under the NHL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, for roughing.

Later on, Paul Maurice talked about the tension that had been building up before Game 3, saying, “A little more meaningful. There’s just more potential for them to escalate because we see each other so much, and we’ve got really good players on both teams, and they’ve both won, so there’s a connection there.”

He mentioned that a bit of physical play is normal, but it’s easy to go too far. He said, “So as long as it’s, you know, reasonable, it’ll stay that way. Once it gets out of hand, it just gets out of hand fast.” Also, the coach mentioned, “I think everybody had enough of it in the last game, and I would have seen that enough times that a lot of times the next game there’s really nothing to it because both teams kind of stood up for themselves, and they both agree that this is the way it’s going to go if it gets silly. So usually the puck just gets managed pretty well.”

So, in Game 3, just like in Game 2, there were some altercations. This really sets the stage for the upcoming regular season, and fans can look forward to a lot of action from this Panthers squad.