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The Florida Panthers absolutely destroyed the Tampa Bay Lightning in their return from NHL All-Star Weekend. With the victory, head coach Paul Maurice joins an elite club of NHL head coaches.
Maurice has won his 800th career game, becoming the sixth head coach to reach the milestone. The last to reach 800 wins was Lindy Ruff, the current head coach of the New Jersey Devils.
The other coaches to reach the 800-win mark are Ruff (814), Ken Hitchcock (849), Barry Trotz (914), Joel Quenneville (969), and Scotty Bowman (1244).
The Panthers got a great performance out of Matthew Tkachuk, who won the NHL All-Star Game MVP. Tkachuk scored two goals and five points in the victory on Monday.
“I had an unreal time this weekend and there’s nothing better than coming back, seeing the guys … and we’re really looking forward to a good home stretch to end the year,” the Panthers star said after the game.
Maurice also spoke with the media following the blowout win. He spoke about what the victory means to his group as they climb the standings in the Atlantic Division.
“It is nice to have a big-number win like that to feel good,” Maurice said. “We had an emotional win against Boston and couldn’t build off it because everyone left town. To come back and bookend it with a win, that’s a positive direction.’’
The Panthers are in fifth place in the Atlantic Division, behind the Buffalo Sabres on a tiebreaker. Florida is just one point out of the Eastern Conference's final wild card spot, which is held by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
