Ahead of Game 3, Panthers head coach Paul Maurice discussed returning to home ice, the pressure of going 2-0 down in the series, the quiet Bennett-Tkachuk line through two games, and the Matthews-Barkov matchup.
How can the home atmosphere help provide some extra jump to your team?
Maurice: You always feel good. We have been a good home team. You get a little action around the other team’s net, and the crowd gives you that instant feedback. You start feeling good about where your game is at.
We are not really much of a hard match team and never have been, but the energy from the home crowd is really important at this time of year.
There is also this talk on the outside about the pressure of this 2-0 situation. The players talk more about excitement. How do you want to see the players channel the pressure into excitement in these types of moments within a series?
Maurice: There is just the composure of the situation, whether up two or down two in a series. The game still has to be played and played intelligently at a high level. As pressure mounts, whether a team is trying to close out or claw back, you just want to make sure you are not trying to hit a home run every time you touch the puck.
With all of the playoff scenarios you have lived through in the last few years, what have you learned about the resiliency of your group and ability to take it one game at a time?
Maurice: We just have. We have been through it, so that you have a shared experience. You can draw on it and be specific with it. We were down 2-1 in the Conference Final. We have been around that idea before.
It is not the situation in the series that is really important to understand. It is actually the situation in the game, with the way the game can change.
Tampa took a lead on us; if they win that game, that series is tied. We would’ve gone into their building and won, and they would’ve come into our building and won, potentially. That game changed in 11 seconds at the end of the game, and we walked out with the win.
Understanding that change in momentum is always there for you but is also there for the other team, trying to capture it is critical. You just don’t want to be trying to hit a home run every time you get to the plate.
How do you think the Barkov line has fared through two games of the series?
Maurice: I think it has been even. You have two really, really good offensive lines. They’ve played mostly against Matthews. They scored the Tanev goal on one side and the Marner goal from the other side, but to me, that is not a structural thing. It has been even. I have been fine with it.
The Leafs have put nine past Sergei Bobrovsky through two games. What have you learned about his ability to bounce back over the years? What about his makeup allows him to flush those moments?
Maurice: He has just trained for it his whole life. He is not an emotional player. I don’t think you can play as long as he has if you ride that rollercoaster up and down. He is even-keeled. He has a routine that he has faith in. He will just stick with it. He had games in the playoffs last year — when he was pretty consistent — that he didn’t like.
I thought his Game 2 was very, very good. He made all of the saves. He didn’t see one that was a knuckler; there is no pre-scout for that. It just goes in. I really liked his game, and that is the trend for him. He has found a way to come back and be really solid. He just has a foundation, and he doesn’t come off his foundation.
The end result, whether he had a shutout in the first series — and was the dominant player, in my eyes, in that game as they were pushing real hard — or he doesn’t, he can move on and leave it.
What are you seeing from the Bennett-Tkachuk combination? Is there anything they can do to get the offense flowing?
Maurice: I am not particularly concerned about our offense. Sam Bennett, going into this series, was our leading goal scorer. We went out on the road and scored four and scored three. We would expect to win both of those games on those numbers based on the way we play the game. Offense is not where our focus needs to be.
You made the switch to put Mackie Samoskevich onto the second line. What did you see from the line when it was together? Are you looking to put it together for Game 3?
Maurice: No, I just wanted to make sure Evan Rodrigues was okay; make sure he was. 100%.
The Marchand line has been such a boost for the team. What has surprised or impressed you about the way they’ve connected so quickly?
Maurice: It has been fun to watch. They have been good from the minute they got together. What we had hoped is that, especially with Brad’s style, we would get these two younger players — especially Anton — thinking about the game a different way than just the solid, defensive shutdown game. Anton scored 18 goals as a rookie, so we think it is there.
Brad has also played most of his career with Bergeron. They would play against the other team’s best, so he is not cheating the game. He has learned to play the game the right way.
It is the perfect complement for those two young men. They have killed penalties before. They have a defensive background. But we were always kind of wondering, “What kind of offense do they have? Is there more there?” This guy is a perfect complement.
Brad is not a point producer from cheating the game, or “Hey, we can make 10 more plays.” He has a really healthy respect for the game, and those two guys just flourish with that.
With veterans like Tomas Nosek on the sidelines, is it important to get them into a game? Or do you not think about it at this time of year?
Maurice: This isn’t registration hockey where everyone gets their 12 minutes. The parents don’t get a stopwatch at the game tonight, no.
