Paul Maurice Left the Florida Panthers Alone. It Worked

When the Florida Panthers are not playing particularly well in a game, one of the first thoughts is ‘how bad is Paul Maurice going to rip them tonight?’

Maurice, of course, once famously said his team “needed some profanity in their life. And I brought some. I don’t excel in a lot of things in life, but F- me, I am good at that.”

So, Maurice painted the visitors’ locker room in Philadelphia five different shades of blue after that rough second period Thursday, right?

Right?

“I didn’t go in after the second because I love these guys,’’ Maurice said after the Panthers rallied to beat the Flyers 7-5 after coughing up leads of 3-0 and 4-2.

“There wouldn’t have been anything but vile, evil thoughts and words.

“Sometimes, you just need to shut up and not go into the room. I thought that was a perfect time for that. Yeah. Say nothing sometimes. So, I did that.’’

The Panthers started Thursday’s game the way every coach would like.

Florida scored twice in the first leading John Tortorella to switch goalies before adding a third early into the second.

Tortorella, for what it is worth, did not speak to the media postgame after Florida went 4-for-5 on the power play

Assistant coach Brad Shaw did, and said it was a move done as much due to Ivan Fedotov’s play as to get the Flyers going.

Cyber Monday Sale Continues!

A Yearly Subscription to FHN+ 50 Percent Off: Just $19.99!

No Code Necessary

It did work — for a bit.

The Panthers turned over the puck twice in high danger situations, then failed to clear it out of their zone in others.

They let Owen Tippett, once their top prospect, jump out on a breakout as he scored twice within a span of 23 seconds to tie it 4-4.

The Panthers even trailed 5-4 early in the third.

Yet the Panthers showed Philadelphia the tenacity the Flyers themselves showed throughout the night and kept at it.

Gus Forsling tied it with a floater from inside the blue line with 5:17 left on a 4-on-4 chance.

Sam Reinhart scored Florida’s third power-play goal on its fourth shot at it with 1:59 remaining to give the Panthers the lead back.

Then Matthew Tkachuk scored a power-play goal into an empty net after he drew a penalty late for a five-point night.

“It’s not a recipe for success, but we found a way to win this one,’’ said Tkachuk, who is on a five-game scoring streak.

“It was crazy. Our special teams were good for us, got a few goals. We needed them. When it’s 4-4 going into the third, you can’t change the first 40. You just have to win a period. The one positive going into the third was that we were tied on the road. We’ll take that every time.’’

The Panthers, who got three of four points on this mini-trip to Pennsylvania, come home to shower, get some fresh clothes, and play the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night.

Then it’s back on the road for a five-game trip which starts in Seattle, hits up Alberta, and ends in Minnesota.

Thursday night was not a pretty win by any means. At times, it was frustrating to watch.

But it still counts as a win and, as we sit at the start of the Holiday season, not bad.

“We hope it’s unique,’’ Maurice said. “You know, we wouldn’t want to see that ever again. I think we got what we deserved in the middle period. We had 3-0, 4-2 leads; not very good. What you are left with, which is important, is finding ways. …

“There are some things we need to work on.’’

ON DECK: GAME 28

SAN JOSE SHARKS AT FLORIDA PANTHERS

• When: Saturday, 6 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FTL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (Naples/FTM)
• Streaming: Panthers+, ESPN+
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Last Season: Florida won 2-0
  
• This Season — At Florida: Saturday. At San Jose: Jan. 25.
• All-time Regular Season Series: Florida leads 23-13-1, 7 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Tuesday at Seattle Kraken, 10 p.m.