After a practice day on Sunday, Panthers head coach Paul Maurice discussed Auston Matthews’ goal-scoring gifts, Brad Marchand’s history of success against the Leafs in the playoffs, and the special teams battle between the two teams.
What stands out about matching up against someone of Auston Matthews’ goal-scoring talent?
Maurice: You would be better off talking to a goaltender or a goalie coach about that, but one theme for all of the elite goal-scorers is that it is hard to pick it up once it comes off his stick. That would be the thing that makes Alex Ovechkin so elite: You are just not sure when it is coming off. All of those guys have the ability to shoot the puck in all different areas across their bodies. They can shoot it from their feet, from the outside, or change directions.
That is why I never played goal.
Does anything stand out about the 48-hour period when you eliminated the Boston Bruins in Game 7 back in 2023 and then went to Toronto and punched them in the mouth a little bit in Game 1?
Maurice: I don’t remember that series of words, sir. I do think that a team coming off a seven-game series is just in rhythm. There is an advantage. Now, it may not continue because fatigue may eventually change, and the series changes. There are some advantages sometimes to just playing every second night and keeping it going.
There is nothing from that series that is impactful other than maybe what we learned in Game 4, but that had nothing to do with the Toronto Maple Leafs. After going to seven games in the first series, it was our first “close-out” game. We learned an awful lot about what happens when you want it really bad and how it translates into the things you do with the puck and your feet.
We would’ve talked about that game, but it is not specific to Toronto. It was the first time we had a chance to close out a series, and we were tight that night. We do talk about that.
Brad Marchand has had so much success against Toronto and Tampa in the playoffs over his career. Of all the things he has brought to the team, how valuable is all of his experience against these division rivals?
Maurice: I guess that is more directed at him. In terms of how he plays, there is a whole other level of the game that the coaches aren’t involved in. These forwards, if they spend enough time against defensemen, will learn the tendencies, right? Those little things we are not teaching them on the ice are experiential only. They do share that.
That is what we are excited about with that [Luostarinen-Lundell-Marchand] line. You have two guys who get to learn from someone who spent a lot of years in the league against certain defensemen. He will share that. It is great for those two younger players to have that experience with Brad.
What kind of a challenge does the Leafs‘ power play present with the five forwards and the talent of those five forwards?
Maurice: It allows for more interchangeability. On power plays with a defined defenseman up top, you don’t see him rotate very much. He will go side to side and maybe get down on the flank, but there won’t be a lot of interchange that happens. There is more with a five-forward power play. You can start at the top and end up at the net. They have enough experience doing those kinds of things. There will be quite a bit more movement in their power play.
The Panthers’ penalty kill has been really effective. Are you pretty confident you’ll hold your own in that battle?
Maurice: We will find out tomorrow night. If your penalty kill is not very good, you don’t have to live with it very long because you’ll be out of the playoffs. You have to have a solid penalty kill to get to the next round. I think it is more important than your power play.
I am not allowed in the meetings, so…
There is a history between the two teams. If you look at the regular-season series — and the stakes are different now, of course — the Panthers only gave up nine power plays to the Leafs in the four games. How critical is the discipline piece?
Maurice: Volume matters, for sure. You just can’t be in the box.
I haven’t felt like you’re going to know anything that’s going to happen tomorrow, necessarily, based on what has happened in the past. It could be low scoring or high scoring. Special teams could have a huge impact or not very much, depending on how much time you are in the penalty box.
You want to stay out of those stick penalties — the trips, the hooks. It is usually a tell that you are behind it; in which case, you are probably losing the game at five-on-five. If you are behind it, you are behind it, and it will affect you more importantly in your five-on-five game.
Staying out of the penalty box is critical for everybody. Your power play, in a series, has to win you a game. Your penalty kill is going to have to win you a game. Your goalie has to win you a game. Every piece of your game is going to have to be at a fairly elite level to make a difference.
He is maybe not as celebrated as some of the acquisitions in the last year, but what has Nico Sturm brought to the penalty kill?
Maurice: Nico has been going out with Luostarinen in the “Stenlund hole,” if you want to call it that. That was the idea last year. Having Brad also added two really good penalty killers to our group. You get the depth.
It doesn’t necessarily mean you are a dominant penalty killing team, but it means I am not running Barkov-Reinhart in big minutes. It has allowed us to spread that out over some good players and have a fairly high quality of PKers going out while not burning people out to do it.
What was the reasoning behind Matthew Tkachuk not going on the ice?
Maurice: It is all by design. He had a heavy day yesterday. He is just getting some of that conditioning and strength back. He is on a every-second-day rotation now, as we will be starting tomorrow.
