Maurice Not Happy with Panthers in Game 4 Loss to Hurricanes

SUNRISE — Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice is nothing if not diplomatic. He is rarely critical of his players and generally praises the opposition, even after runaway wins. He sort of did the same Monday night after a rough loss to the Hurricanes.

Monday night, following Florida’s 3-0 loss to Carolina, Maurice had some of the same quips and quotable soundbites as usual self.

But if you read between the lines, as was his intent, he made it clear he was not happy with his team’s effort.

Maurice never spoke about the Panthers pulling a sweep when his team went up 3-0 and, as in the past, said he did not expect this series to go down that way.

Of course not.

But he knew it was there for the taking.

His Panthers didn’t grab hold of the series win, but the Hurricanes did enough to stay in it.

Monday’s game was quite similar to Game 6 against Toronto. Florida had all the momentum going, was playing at home, and in position to wrap things up.

Carolina, like the Maple Leafs before them, was not ready to quit and brought out their best in an effort to live another day.

The Panthers hold a 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series with Game 5 in Raleigh on Wednesday night.

The Hurricanes outshot the Panthers 28-20, bested them in shot attempts 60-51 and, most significantly, held them to no goals and four shots on three power plays.

But those numbers do not mean much.

Over two games, Florida’s power play is 0-for-8 minus Sam Reinhart.

Carolina’s only goal into a guarded net came from rookie Logan Stankoven on a neat pass from fellow rookie — but KHL veteran — Alexander Nikishin.

“It’s a competitive sport,” Maurice said after the game, “so I am past seething. I got rid of that before I came to see [the media] tonight.

“At the end of the day, I have a job to do: Get them to play a certain way, look a certain way. I don’t think I got that done.”

The players knew they were lacking something. Sam Bennett said as much.

When asked what was lacking, he said, “I think just a little jump. We were a little hesitant tonight. The last three games, we were aggressive. We had more pace to our game, more jump, and I think just a little sitting back tonight.”

Carolina deserves credit for not rolling over.

The Hurricanes go back to the raucous confines of Lenovo Center knowing anything can happen. The Panthers are, perhaps, the best road team in the NHL. 

Still.

“Give Carolina credit,’’ Maurice said. “They were quick. They closed the gap. They blocked some shots; hustled real hard. So,they played a great game for them, in terms of the style that they play.  I thought they were very consistent with their game tonight.”

Jaccob Slavin, who was the only Hurricane who can boast being plus-3 Monday, said the team had a positive attitude all along and just never gave up.

“Everyone put their heart on the line and played extremely hard,’’ Slavin said. “We know we’ve got a good group in here. We know we’ve got all the pieces. We just have to bring it every night and that’s what happened tonight as we brought it and there were no lapses. Everyone played hard. Everyone worked hard. We’re doing it together.”

Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour, for the first time in the series, expressed true pleasure in the way his team played.

And, well, he should have.

The Hurricanes brought their best possible game against the Panthers on Monday.

“We were good all night,’’ said Brind’Amour, who scored the winning goal the last time Carolina won a ECF game back in 2006 in Game 7 against the Sabres. That’s a 15-game losing streak in the conference finals that was snapped Monday.

“It was how we need to play if we’re going to have a chance, and we gave ourselves a chance, and that’s all I can ask. Everything was solid tonight.”

Brind’Amour, of all people, knows the road ahead is tough.

“We can enjoy  the game for a little bit,’’ he said. “They’re not going away. This is not even a blip on the radar for them. That’s how they’re looking at it. But we have to keep the hammer down and give us a chance again next game.”

Carolina has life.

The Panthers, have a 3-1 series lead and know they’re in a good spot.

But the Hurricanes really have life. They have another home game and are going home — but not going home for the summer.

The Panthers, meanwhile, are Back to Raleigh to try to finish this thing off once again on Wednesday night.

A win, and the Panthers are back in the Stanley Cup Final for a third straight year with a chance to defend their title.

Of course, all of that was on the line Monday night as well.

2025 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL: GAME 5

FLORIDA PANTHERS @ CAROLINA HURRICANES

Panthers lead Best-of-7 Series 3-1

• When: Wednesday, 8 p.m. 
• Where: Lenovo Center, Raleigh
• National TV: TNT/truTV
• National Streaming: Max
• Radio: WQAM 560-AM; WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Series Schedule (all games on TNT/tru, 8 p.m.) — Game 1: Florida 5, Carolina 2; Game 2: Florida 5, Carolina 0; Game 3: Florida 6, Carolina 2; Game 4: Carolina 3, Florida 0; Game 5: Wednesday @Carolina; Game 6*: Friday @Florida; Game 7*:Sunday @Carolina
• Regular Season: Panthers Won 2-1
• How They Got Here: Carolina d. New Jersey (5), Washington (5); Florida d. Tampa Bay (5), Toronto (7).
• All-Time Regular Season Series: Carolina/Hartford leads 74-49-10, 11 ties
• Postseason History: Florida 1-0 (2023 ECF in 4)