Here's my interaction with Maurice that was referenced earlier. https://t.co/7o3NeF7RqW
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) May 13, 2024
Panthers HC had an unpleasant exchange with press after Game 4 win against Bruins.
If you thought there were fireworks in Game 4 between the Boston Bruins and the Florida Panthers, you were in for a surprise if you stayed for the postgame analysis.
Sure, NHL head coaches occasionally get snippy with the media. Heck, John Tortorella turned it into an art form. That didn’t make Panthers head coach Paul Maurice’s snippy comments to reporters on Sunday any less cringe-worthy.
The Panthers recovered from a two-goal deficit at TD Garden to win 3-2 and take a 3-1 lead in the second-round series. The highlight of the game was Florida’s game-tying goal, which came after Florida’s Sam Bennett knocked Boston’s Charlie Coyle into goalkeeper Jeremy Swayman, and Boston’s goaltender interference protest was unsuccessful.
And, while Maurice should have been overjoyed that his team won, he snapped at reporters at his post-game media availability when questioned about his reaction to the play.
A game-tying goal by Florida Panthers player Sam Bennett overcame a coach’s challenge for goaltender interference after he shoved Boston’s Charlie Coyle into Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman. More on the play—and the rule: https://t.co/y1YVsIS00B pic.twitter.com/vfLGcy6h64
— Scouting The Refs (@ScoutingTheRefs), May 13, 2024
“The only way that I was particularly concerned is like some of your foreheads right now,” Maurice told NESN, referring to one reporter’s furrowed brow.
When ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski tried to explain that Swayman had provided his side of the story, Maurice appeared to lose his calm.
“Go with him [Swayman]. Okay, we are in Boston. Stick with the Bruins, brother. “I am with you.”
When questioned about Bennett’s effect since an upper-body injury kept him out of the lineup, Maurice clapped again.
“I think there’s been lots of energy with lots of coverage and I think you’ve gone lost your minds on it, which is fine,” he stated.
He later said, “I don’t wish to upset you, but we don’t always agree about what happens on the ice. I am completely partisan, like, 100%. Sometimes I think you are, too.”
Yikes.
Again, it is not uncommon for a head coach to be blunt with the media following a game, particularly during the playoffs. There’s no disputing that Maurice’s discussion following the Panthers’ Game 4 triumph was awkward.
We’ll just have to wait and see if he still has any jabs to fire when the series continues on Tuesday in Sunrise, Fla.
The puck drop for Game 5 between the Panthers and Bruins is set at 7 p.m. ET.
