The Florida Panthers have to be thrilled that they found their way to the Stanley Cup Final as the eight seed out of the Eastern Conference, but things didn't get off to a great start for them against the Vegas Golden Knights, as they suffered a 5-2 loss in Game 1 of the series. The Panthers fell apart in the third period of the game, prompting a simple, yet NSFW message from Paul Maurice.
Maurice has done a fantastic job of guiding the Panthers throughout the playoffs to this point, but he is going to face his biggest challenge yet on the biggest stage the NHL has to offer. After the game, Maurice offered his team a clear message that he will likely be hoping leads them to put together a better outing in Game 2 on Monday night.
Via Luke Fox:
“'Everybody just f——-n’ breathe.' -Paul Maurice, reminding that the Panthers fell down 0-1 in the Boston series too”
Given their underdog status throughout the postseason, the Panthers have been playing without any sort of pressure weighing on them to this point. However, that changed in Game 1, as they seemed to tighten up in the third period with the score tied at two. The Golden Knights pounced, and ended up picking up the victory in Game 1.
The Panthers aren't exactly unfamiliar with this situation, as they did fall behind the historic Boston Bruins 3-1 in the first round before rallying, which makes Maurice's message all the more important. The Panthers will have a great chance to steal home-ice on Monday night, and if they can play like they did in the first two periods of Game 1, they will have every opportunity to knot this series up at one before heading back to Florida.
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