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Paul Maurice Responds to Brad Marchand's Ejection Following Wild Altercation with Gostisbehere

Originally posted on Blade of Steel | By Tom Banks | Last updated May 21, 2025 10:57 AM ET

Brad Marchand was controversially ejected from Game 1, and now Florida Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice has had his say on the situation.

The Florida Panthers dominated Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, walking away with the 5-2 victory as they now find themselves just three games from the Stanley Cup Finals.

However, it wasn't a game without controversy, as Shane Gostisbehere and Brad Marchand dropped the gloves as the Panthers veteran was ejected from the game after the defenseman intentionally shot the puck right at him.

After the game, Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice weighed in on the situation, and unsurprisingly, he wasn't too happy about it, but not wanting to be fined by the NHL, he kept his opinion to himself.

Yeah I've got one, but I'm just keeping that to myself.

On the play, it was clear that Gostisbehere was frustrated over Marchand trying to hit him against the glass, and as a result, he took the puck and shot it directly at Marchand, and when the two dropped the gloves, it was somehow No. 63 that ended up with the 10-minute misconduct penalty.

This was clearly yet another instances of the officials messing up in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, as they've been constantly under fire for the past few weeks, but when making decisions like this one, it's very easy to see why.

Ultimately, Marchand is used to getting under the skin of his opponents, and it's worked very well for him in his career, but in this instance, it's fair to say his actions were justified, and now we wait to see if the NHL's Department of Player Safety look to get involved in this situation.

This article first appeared on Blade of Steel and was syndicated with permission.

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