Panthers Ready For Deep Series If They Need To Be

Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said at the beginning of the postseason that the team prepares for every series like it will go seven games.

Leading the Eastern Conference semifinal against the Boston Bruins three games to one, the Panthers lost to Boston on Tuesday, inching themselves closer to that Game 7 possibility.

Aside from a Sam Reinhart goal in the second period, the Panthers couldn’t get anything past Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman and the Bruins in their 2-1 loss at home. Now, the Panthers will travel back to Boston for Game 6 on Friday night, still leading this series, 3-2. 

SAMSON WITH THE EQUALIZER 🔥 pic.twitter.com/GNheQ0OdhW

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) May 15, 2024

“It’s all perspective, right? This is the emotion of the playoff series,” Maurice said to the media on Wednesday before their flight to Boston. “So we win three in a row. And then the expectation is ‘well, if you win three, just win four.’ And then you don’t win. Well, what the hell happened?”

The Panthers (52-24-6) edged out the Bruins (47-20-15) for the regular season Atlantic Division title by one point. The Bruins, like the Panthers in the first and second rounds, took a 3-1 lead over their opponent in the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs won two straight games to force a Game 7 in Boston before David Pastrnak buried an overtime goal to advance the Bruins.

“I don’t have an expectation that we would come out, just play our game, and then we should just win these games,” Maurice said. “This is way harder than that. The players on both teams are way too good. So all I want to make sure is that we’re excited about it.”

The Florida Panthers aren’t alone while they sweat out the potential end of their series.

The New York Rangers and the Dallas Stars are in similar boats. All three teams entered their most recent games up 3-1 on their opponents, and all three teams lost. The day before Florida’s loss, the Rangers were defeated by the Carolina Hurricanes – the second win in a row for Carolina after New York got out to a 3-0 lead. The day after Florida was defeated, the Stars allowed three third-period goals to the Colorado Avalanche in a 5-3 loss. 

That’s now three teams, up 3-1, that failed to advance.

The Panthers still have the same confidence — publicly, at least – that they had at the start of the series. But it’s easy to forget how quickly a 3-1 lead can evaporate. Florida was on the right side of that collapse against the very same team in the Boston Bruins. The Panthers won three straight elimination games to defeat the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Bruins in the first round of the playoffs last year.

Get set for the next one. pic.twitter.com/d6QIQJ4DqF

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) May 15, 2024

That Boston collapse, combined with Sam Bennett’s hit on Bruins captain Brad Marchand in Game 3 in Boston, means the 18,000 people at TD Garden will be clamoring for blood – figuratively, but also perhaps literally – as the Bruins try to climb back in this emotional series.

“I know that (Tuesday) was the first pretty disciplined game,” Maurice said. “There wasn’t anything going on after whistles. So it’s on now, it’s serious, right? All the foolishness is done and now we get down to playing. I know what it’s like when you take it seriously and you’re down three to one and when you make it three to two, you’re pretty excited about that next game. And the puck is gonna drop. And none of that matters, right? And then away we go.”