Panthers’ Maurice Blasts Officiating After Loss to Leafs

Florida Panthers head coach, Paul Maurice, didn’t hold back when asked about the officiating last night.

Maurice Heated After Panthers Lose in Lop-sided Officiated Game

After Maurice’s Panthers gave up a two-goal lead in the third and lost in overtime, the veteran bench boss didn’t mince words over the “favoritism” he felt the refs showed the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“I don’t know what the hell those guys were doing tonight but it wasn’t Florida Panther-friendly.”

The parade to the penalty box was a continuous one for the Panthers all night. The Cats were slapped with four penalties in the first period alone and a total of seven for the entire game. 

But it wasn’t just the amount of penalties being called against the Panthers that irked the head coach, it was the quality, or lack thereof, of the types of calls.

“Radko Gudas hits as clean a hit as you can… Stick on stick, body on body. A charge? They’re both going the in the same direction. No problem with the guy going to the net at all. That’s hockey.”

Then there was a questionable hooking call on Ryan Lomberg after he chased down Calle Jarnkrok and stripped him of the puck. 

Later that same period, Sam Bennett was called for a phantom interference play in front of the Leafs’ net. An irate Maurice gave the refs an earful before they went and took a further look at the call and reversed it, giving the interference to Timothy Liljegren.

Maurice’s History May Have Played A Part

Soft calls happen in a game but when a multitude happens against one team in one game, that’s when you have to start questioning things.

Maurice gave the media his explanation of the calls, stating “It had nothing to do with my players. It had to do with me and a relationship I have with one of the referees.”

This was of course in reference to a game back in 2016 when Paul Maurice was ejected by last night’s referee, Francois St. Laurent. Maurice, who was coaching the Winnipeg Jets at the time, blasted St. Laurent after a call from the head ref. Winnipeg’s Bryan Little was injured on a hit from Anton Stralman and Blake Wheeler retaliated. Wheeler was the only player sent to the penalty box. Stralman would walk away Scott-free. Maurice let out his frustrations and St. Laurent ejected him from the game.

Seems like there is still some bad blood between the two.

But at the end of the day, there’s no point in dwelling on it. You have to move on. 

Even though Maurice was animated on the bench, he did a great job of keeping his players cool and collected. For the most part, the players kept their frustrations inside. And aside from a penalty shot awarded to William Nylander, the Panthers played disciplined hockey in the third period and stayed out of the box.

But it wouldn’t be quite enough. As the game went on you could see the players running out of steam. The jump they had in the first 40 minutes had waned into the third.

And as Maurice noted after the game, “They [NHL] flew us out to the west coast, flew us back home, flew us up here in back-to-back and then threw those two guys [refs] at us. I think we hung in there pretty good. I’m proud of this group.”

One could say that blowing a third-period lead and losing the two points is a loss. And, well, it is. That’s the textbook definition of a loss. But coming away with a point, on the road, on the tail end of a back-to-back, against a team like the Leafs, and with how the officiating played out, that’s a victory in my book.

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Look For The Positives

Despite the loss to the Leafs, there are still positives to take away going into this matchup. 

“This is by far our most difficult stretch.” Maurice stated about the Panthers’ current road trip, “But the room feels good. Our work level and compete-level is much higher than in December.”

Matthew Tkachuk echoed that sentiment, “The belief is in this room. It doesn’t matter who we are playing.”

And that belief will go a long way in carrying this club as their playoff push continues.

Helping along with that push will be recent AHL call-up, Grigori Denisenko. The 2018, 15th overall pick of the NHL draft has impressed in his latest stint with the big club.

Denisenko was a highly touted prospect but injuries have stalled his development since his draft day.

But the skilled Russian is getting a good look on this road trip while filling in for Colin White, who remains a healthy scratch.

Maurice was particularly pleased with his poise with the puck and his ability to make smart plays, “He’ll hang onto a puck… he’s got the understanding of how hard you have to work to be a good player and he’s starting to do it, so we’re pretty excited.”

There has been a lot of success from the group after Maurice shook up his lines prior to their game against the Colorado Avalanche the other week. 

We can expect Maurice to continue running with this current lineup and look to pick up two crucial points on the road.

Up Next

The Panthers won’t have much time to lick their wounds. The Cats make their way up the St. Lawrence River for a date with the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

This is the second of four meetings between the two clubs. The Panthers took their first bout in a 7-2 drubbing right after the Christmas Break. The Cats will look to continue that dominance tomorrow night.

Puck drop is at 7:00 pm ET.