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Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice. Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Panthers HC has awkward exchange with reporters after Game 4 win against Bruins

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 5/13/24

If you thought there were fireworks during Game 4 between the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers, you were in for a treat if you stuck around for the postgame commentary.

Sure, NHL head coaches get snippy with the media from time to time. Heck, John Tortorella has made it into an art form. But that didn't make things any less cringy when Panthers head coach Paul Maurice got snippy with reporters on Sunday.

It was a wild scene at TD Garden as the Panthers rallied out of a two-goal hole for a 3-2 road win and a 3-1 lead in the second-round series. The pinnacle of the entire game was Florida's game-tying goal when Florida's Sam Bennett pushed Boston's Charlie Coyle into netminder Jeremy Swayman, and Boston's challenge for goaltender interference came up empty.

And while Maurice should have been ecstatic that his team pulled out the W, he was quick to snap at reporters in his post-game media availability when he was asked for his reaction to the play.

A game-tying goal from Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett survived a coach's challenge for goaltender interference after he shoved Boston's Charlie Coyle into Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman. More on the play -- and the rule: https://t.co/y1YVsIS00B pic.twitter.com/vfLGcy6h64
— Scouting The Refs (@ScoutingTheRefs) May 13, 2024

"The only way that I was particularly concerned is like some of your foreheads right now," Maurice said via NESN, referring to one reporter's furrowed eyebrow.

When ESPN's Greg Wyshynski attempted to explain that Swayman had given his side of the story, Maurice seemingly lost his cool.

"Go with him [Swayman]. Okay, we’re in Boston. Stay with the Bruins, brother. I’m with you."

When asked a bit later about Bennett's impact since an upper-body injury kept him out of the lineup, Maurice clapped back yet again.

"I think there’s been lots of energy with lots of coverage and I think you’ve gone lost your minds on it, which is fine," he said.

He later added: "I don’t mean to offend you anytime, but we don’t always share the same opinion about what happens on the ice. I am absolutely partisan, like, 100%. Sometimes, I feel like you are, too."

Yikes.

Here's my interaction with Maurice that was referenced earlier. https://t.co/7o3NeF7RqW
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) May 13, 2024

Again, it isn't uncommon for a head coach to get short with the media after a game, especially during the playoffs. There's no denying, however, that Maurice's exchange after the Panthers' Game 4 victory bordered on uncomfortable.

Now, we'll just have to wait and see if he has any more barbs left to throw when the series resumes on Tuesday down in Sunrise, Fla.

Puck drop for Game 5 between the Panthers and Bruins is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

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