Panthers’ Paul Maurice makes ‘disjointed’ admission after Capitals win

The Florida Panthers extended their strong run of form on Monday night, but head coach Paul Maurice was quick to acknowledge that the performance itself was far from seamless.

After Florida erased another third-period deficit to defeat the Washington Capitals 5-3 at Amerant Bank Arena, Maurice offered a candid assessment of how the game unfolded. Following the win, Maurice described the contest as unusually choppy.

“It was a bit of disjointed game just with the amount power plays and the timing of them and the pace of the game. It didn’t feel like our last one. We’ll build hopefully in our sharpness,” Maurice said, via NHL.com.

His comments came in the context of a game that never fully settled into five-on-five flow, forcing both teams to constantly adjust.

The Capitals struck first when Tom Wilson finished a rebound at 3:53 of the opening period, but Florida answered almost immediately. Just 42 seconds later, Anton Lundell redirected a Jeff Petry feed to tie the game, and Sam Reinhart later gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead with a power-play snipe from the right circle.

Washington responded late in the first, again through Wilson, who capitalized on a 5-on-4 advantage to send the teams into intermission tied 2-2.

A scoreless second period followed, highlighted by Sergei Bobrovsky’s standout glove save on Wilson during a two-on-one rush, denying the Capitals forward a potential hat trick. The lack of scoring only added to the stop-start nature Maurice referenced afterward.

Washington briefly seized control early in the third when Dylan Strome fired a long shot past Bobrovsky on a delayed penalty, making it 3-2. However, Florida’s resilience showed once again.

Brad Marchand tied the game moments after a Panthers power play expired, and Florida surged from there, scoring three unanswered goals to complete yet another comeback. Maurice emphasized the psychological importance of the response, particularly after a recent setback.

“We had a tough one the other night, so it’s important in the game, but maybe more important overall in the psyche of your team,” he said, underscoring how resilience has become a defining trait for this group for solid comebacks.

With the win, Florida improved to 21-5-2, having won nine of their last 12 games. While Maurice acknowledged the Panthers were not at their sharpest, the ability to grind through an imperfect night and still deliver results remains a promising sign as Florida looks ahead to tightening execution during their upcoming stretch.