Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice admitted to be "seething" before meeting with the media after a 3-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final on Monday night. But that didn't stop Maurice from sharing his wry humor with reporters following the home-ice defeat.
Asked postgame about the performance of Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky , who lost for the first time this series and only the fifth time in 16 postseason games this spring, Maurice offered up a bit of sarcastic quick wit.
"I didn't like the last two [goals] at all. His gap was horses**t," Maurice deadpanned .
Of course, Bobrovsky was on the bench for an extra attacker when Carolina scored empty-net goals at 17:49 and 18:15 of the third period. So, yeah, not exactly the goalie's fault.
Turning serious, Maurice clearly had zero issues with his star netminder. Bobrovsky stopped 25 of 26 shots to give his teammates a chance, but the Panthers managed only 20 shots against Frederik Andersen , who saved them all.
And the one shot that got past Bobrovsky, by Carolina's Logan Stankoven at 10:45 of the second period?
"That first one was a helluva' shot," Maurice said. "He made two or three other really big saves. It was not a high-event game around the net … that's even tougher for both goaltenders, seeing no action and then you have so much on the line that it becomes so critical. Both goalies were really good."
Andersen was back in there for Carolina after the veteran was pulled in a 5-0 loss in Game 2 and then benched in favor of Pyotr Kochetkov in Game 3, a 6-2 defeat. Andersen had no margin for error Monday with Carolina one loss from being swept in the conference final.
The 35-year-old came through with his second shutout of these playoffs. Even after allowing nine goals on 36 shots in the first two games against the Panthers, Andersen still leads all goalies with a 1.84 goals-against average in 12 Stanley Cup Playoff games this spring, and has the same save percentage as Bobrovsky (.914), even though the Panthers goalie has outplayed him in the East Final.
"I don't really want to talk about my feelings," Andersen said when asked about coming back being benched. "It's not about that, it's about the team and trying to put the best lineup on the ice that we feel like is going to get the job done. I'm just ready for when I'm called upon and glad to be able to play tonight."
Related: Oilers take Western Conference Final lead with 6-1 win over Stars in Game 3: takeaways
Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Not only did the Hurricanes remain alive in this best-of-7 series, they exorcised some nasty playoff demons. The Hurricanes had lost 15 straight conference final games dating to 2009. They were swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009, Boston Bruins in 2019, and Panthers in 2023. Then they lost the first three games in this series.
Carolina's most recent conference final victory was Game 7 in 2006 against the Buffalo Sabres . The Hurricanes then went on to win the Stanley Cup in six games against the Edmonton Oilers .
"That's nice. It means nothing to those guys because half of them weren't here, but it's been a story so, yeah it's nice to not have to talk about that," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said about ending their conference final schneid.
Also Read:: NHL Games Today: 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs Schedule, Dates, Times, and Results
The spotlight will again be on the goalies Wednesday, when the Hurricanes host the Panthers in Game 5 at Lenovo Center. That's especially so if there's another tight defensive battle.
Carolina is 5-2 at home in these playoffs, though 0-2 against Florida, which is 7-2 on the road this spring.
Up 3-1 in the series, the Panthers need just one more victory to advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the third consecutive year.
