Will Panthers make lineup changes for Game 2 of Stanley Cup Final? What Maurice said
The Florida Panthers are sticking with the status quo.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice said pregame Friday that there will be no lineup changes for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers after Florida dropped the series opener 4-3 in overtime on Wednesday.
'I'm not changing anything,' Maurice said.
The only potential change that could have come would have been forward A.J. Greer drawing in on the fourth line, but he remains out with a lower-body injury that hobbled him during the Eastern Conference final.
'He's on track but he won't go tonight,' Maurice said, 'but we think if he tracks out, he could be available for Game 3.'
That means Jesper Boqvist will stay on Florida's fourth line as the left winger with Tomas Nosek at center and Jonah Gadjovich at right wing. Boqvist played just 7:58 in Game 1 and took two shot attempts — one was blocked, the other missed the net — and had one hit. Through 12 playoff games, Boqvist has five points (two goals, three assists) with 38 hits and four blocked shots.
Florida's lineup should look as follows for Game 2 on Friday...
Forward lines
Evan Rodrigues-Aleksander Barkov-Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe-Sam Bennett-Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen-Anton Lundell-Brad Marchand
Jesper Boqvist-Tomas Nosek-Jonah Gadjovich
Defense pairs
Gustav Forsling-Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola-Seth Jones
Nate Schmidt-Dmitry Kulikov
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Vitek Vanecek
Maurice reacts to DeBoer firing
The Dallas Stars on Friday announced they fired coach Peter DeBoer, a little more than a week after his team lost to the Oilers in the Western Conference final — Dallas' third consecutive season losing in the series before the Stanley Cup Final.
'After careful consideration, we believe that a new voice is needed in our locker room to push us closer to our goal of winning the Stanley Cup,' Stars general manager Jim Nill said in a statement. 'We'd like to thank Pete for everything that he has helped our organization achieve over the past three seasons and wish him nothing but the best moving forward.'
Maurice and DeBoer have a relationship going back nearly 40 years, since they were teammates at the junior hockey level in the mid-1980s.
'He'll be all right,' Maurice said. 'With elite teams, you have to push them real hard to where they get to and at some point, you get a summer off, new spot, he's going to be OK.'
Nosek talks overtime penalty
Nosek on Friday spoke for the first time since his delay of game penalty in the final minutes of overtime in Game 1 that led to the Oilers' eventual game-winning power-play goal by Leon Draisaitl.
'You don't want to be the one guy who costs us a game,' Nosek said Friday. 'Obviously, anybody can make a mistake. It happened in a bad time in overtime and cost us a game. It's in the past and now I'm looking forward to just keep doing my job and focusing on the next game.'
Nosek said his teammates have been 'really helpful' with getting him to turn the page and prepare for Game 2.
'Most of the guys came to me and said 'Don't worry about it.''
As for what's key to turning the page after a costly mistake like that?
'I don't think there is one,' Nosek said. 'Everybody makes mistakes. It's a part of the game. It's sport. Just focusing on the same and preparing like any other game.'
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