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Published May 25, 2024 at 7:06 pm ET
SUNRISE, Fla. – Less than an hour after his team lost a heartbreaking game in overtime early Saturday morning, Paul Maurice was sitting on the Madison Square Garden podium looking forward to jokes.
He had not yet seen Barclay Goodrow’s game-winning goal, he said, because the Garden’s layout made it impossible for him to see the videographer.
“I’m not sure he still works for us,” Maurice joked. “I haven’t really seen the point, because we have to send telegrams.”
Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice reacts on the bench during the third period. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
This, after a 2-1 overtime loss in the conference finals, is a rarity.
But both Maurice and the Panthers are perfectly comfortable with where they stand in this series against the Rangers as they head to Florida for Game 3 on Sunday afternoon.
“Distressed is not the right word,” Maurice said. “I’m fine with tonight. You shouldn’t come and beat the Presidents Trophy team twice in a row. “You really shouldn’t.”
New York Rangers center Barclay Goodrow celebrates with New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafrenière after scoring the game-winning goal against the Florida Panthers. Keynote USA
Winning a division at the Garden, and one in which they played a couple of strong games, is something the Panthers are happy with.
They have yet to lose consecutive games in these playoffs, with a record of 3-0 after losses.
And playing at home, with matchups now under their control, the Panthers appear confident in their position.
“I think after a loss, we came to the court with a little more focus, a little more energy,” Nick Cousins said Saturday. “Tomorrow will be no different. It’s a quick turnaround, an early afternoon start. After a loss, you want to recover. Today we will rest a little and then we will get on the plane and prepare to play a home game.”
Unlike the Rangers after Game 1, Florida is not dealing with any lineup decisions.
Will Cuylle of the New York Rangers and Nick Cousins of the Florida Panthers fight for the puck during the third period of game two of the Eastern Conference finals. NHLI via /Keynote USA/Getty Images
Unlike the Rangers, the Panthers are pretty happy with their special teams.
And they managed to steal home ice in Game 1, so Friday night the Panthers felt a little like playing with the house’s money.
As much as the Rangers picked up their game in the 74:01 victory, the Panthers didn’t really slip.
They played the same type of physical hockey as two nights earlier, continued to look strong in the bottom six and Aleksander Barkov continued to present problems for the Rangers whenever they were on the ice.
“Pretty close game, I think it could have gone either way,” Cousins said. “They just made a play in overtime, they were lucky to get one. I think that in the first 10 minutes of the game they raised their level, they raised their intensity, they came out hard and we expected that.
“I thought as the game went on, we got a lot better. “Now we have to come home in front of our fans and use the crowd to our advantage.”
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