Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice is well-known for his funny jokes, and he made another one ahead of the club's Game 3 matchup against the Edmonton Oilers.
When asked about Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov's slow start to the Stanley Cup Final, Maurice jokingly responded by saying: "We're trading him."
Maurice's joke naturally led to some laughs, but then the Panthers' bench boss got serious and made it clear that he is not worried about Barkov tough offensive start to the Stanley Cup Final.
"No I'm not (worried) at all," Maurice said. "There's action at both ends of the ice, all the time. I don't think this is a statistical series because it's not relatable to series that you played in the past... Well, he got a minus on the four-on-four. It was a heck of a shot block. It's in the back of the net. I didn't bench him. He's good."
While Barkov has zero points and a minus-4 rating in two games this Stanley Cup Final, it is clear that Maurice is not stressing. The 29-year-old forward is continuing to make an impact defensively, and given how he has played this post-season, it should only be a matter of time before he starts heating up again offensively.
It will now be very interesting to see what kind of performance Barkov has in Game 3 from here.
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