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Paul Maurice hopeful of extinguishing "three biggest fires" after making major lineup changes for Stanley Cup Final Game 6
Ahead of a pivotal Game 6 in the Stanley Cup Final, Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice is making major lineup tweaks in an attempt to swing momentum back in his team's favor against the Edmonton Oilers.
After the Panthers fell 5-3 in Game 5, Maurice explained his rationale behind shaking things up. Speaking at the press conference ahead of Game 6 on Friday, he said:
“If you walk in and you see a hundred fires, pick the three biggest ones, get those out, and a lot of the other ones will just burn themselves out on their own.”
The first change is on the power play, where Brandon Montour’s careless cross-ice pass led directly to a shorthanded goal for Edmonton. Maurice has demoted Montour off the top unit, promoting veteran Oliver Ekman-Larsson to take his place.
The second adjustment comes in response to Kyle Okposo’s minor penalty in Game 5, which halted Florida’s momentum after Matthew Tkachuk’s first goal. Okposo will be scratched for Game 6 in favor of Nick Cousins, who has not played since the second round.
"They come back, and they're jacked" - Maurice acknowledged that it's been tough for his veteran players to get healthy scratched.
Finally, Maurice is flipping his top-six left wingers to shake things up. The third adjustment involves Carter Verhaeghe moving up to Aleksander Barkov's defensively sound top line. Meanwhile Evan Rodrigues, who leads the series with four goals, will join Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk.
Paul Maurice on facing pressure against the Oilers in Game 6
Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice is leaning on perspective to help his team handle the mounting pressure.
"I’ve kind of spent more time understanding the perspective of my cosmic insignificance... What it does is it lets you hopefully be present in all that pressure and enjoy it. We’re certainly riding it," Paul Maurice said on Friday's press conference.
The coach also emphasizes the importance of team dynamics and individual responsibilities. He said when each player focused on their specific role and took pride in it, the pressure becomes more manageable.
As the series moves back to Edmonton's Rogers Place for Game 6, the Panthers will aim to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history on the road.
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