Ahead of Game 1, head coach Craig Berube discussed the Panthers entering the series as the perceived favourite, characteristics of a Paul Maurice-coached team, and the possible advantage of home ice.
As you check in with Mitch Marner, was he in as good of a mood as you thought he’d be?
Berube: It’s his birthday today, so he is in a good mood. He is ready to go.
The last time you had a player play on his birthday, William Nylander scored three points. What do you expect from Marner tonight?
Berube: Haha, well, I expect the same game he always plays. He is in a good spot. A lot of good things — positive things — are happening in his life. He is ready to go for the second round now. Coming off the first round (win), the baby, the birthday — a lot of good stuff.
What is your sense of the group’s mindset heading into Game 1 of the second series?
Berube: Business. I thought practice was really good yesterday. I loved the pace. I loved the attitude out there. We have to bring that tonight — play with pace, business-like, and go out and do your job. Shift to shift, for every player, go out and do your job.
This team hasn’t been labeled the underdog in a playoff series in the last few years. How do you view the shift in that regard?
Berube: Any time you are playing the Stanley Cup champions, you are going to be the underdog, right? They have proven they are a great team over the last few years. They are a really good team, and we’re a good team, too. We are approaching this business-like — go out, do our job, and play the way we can.
How much does home ice give you an advantage against Florida?
Berube: Well, I mean, home ice… I don’t know. It is a good question. I really don’t have an answer for you with home ice.
Our team, when I look at it, was pretty consistent at home and on the road. That is very important — you need to go out on the road and win games — but we played extremely well at home, too. We have been a really good team on home ice.
You don’t need to change your game at home or on the road. You want to play the same game. That is really important. We are at home in front of our fans, but we want to play our game that is going to make us successful.
Paul Maurice was just saying that he is not a match guy on the road.
Berube: You can start chasing matches when you are the road team, and at times, you can do it too much and get your team off-kilter a little bit. There is no flow or rotation. Players like flow. They want rotation. They want to go. I get it.
Matchups are still important. We will just see how it goes tonight.
What are the hallmarks of a Maurice-coached team?
Berube: In Winnipeg, we played him in a series with me as the coach. His teams are very aggressive and physical. They play that game. They are coming at you all the time. There is no sitting back with them. They go one way. They are coming at you, and there is not going to be a lot of room out there. Those are the way his teams have always played recently, and even in Winnipeg, I thought it was similar.
What stands out about the challenge Matthew Tkachuk presents, in particular?
Berube: Very intelligent player. Very good around the net. He has made his living there. He can pass, he can score, and he can do a lot of things. Very good player.
For years now, the organization has always been iterating and trying to find the right checking line. Is it safe to say you really like what you have in the Laughton unit?
Berube: I think they did a really good job before the playoffs of forming some chemistry with each other and knowing what their job is when they go out on the ice. Throughout the playoffs, against the Senators, I thought they were very effective. It was a very important line for us in that playoff round.
A lot of teams around the league have talked about how the first round is sometimes the hardest one to win. You just want to survive it. Does the mentality change at all, in your experience, after round one?
Berube: It shouldn’t. It is one round. You should be happy you won that round, but not satisfied, and you should not get complacent. First rounds are tough, no doubt, but to me, it only gets tougher, in my opinion and experience. It is only getting tougher.
Did you stay up for Game 7 double OT last night? What goes through a coach’s mind when watching it?
Berube: I did. It really boils down to getting a bounce.
In the Dallas series with St. Louis, Jamie Benn — maybe in double OT by then — was coming around the net. [Jordan Binnington] got caught a little outside of his post, and he was wrapping that puck. I wasn’t sure if Binner was getting back to the post. He got his toe on it and saved the game. We ended up scoring.
At that time, we were dominating the game and the shot clock. We just couldn’t buy one. We got a bounce there. That is what it boils down to a lot of times.
Did the two Game 7s over the weekend clearly demonstrate the message that no lead is safe in the playoffs?
Berube: I don’t think anybody thinks it is safe anyway. You have to keep playing, stay on your toes, keep pressuring, and do things the right way. A bad bounce here or there changes everything. You want to be aggressive and keep pushing, for sure.
