The Panthers went on to win seven straight games and squeak into the playoffs after Maurice ripped his players a new one
Looking back at last season, there was one clear moment where things changed for the Florida Panthers.
The team has often referenced two games in late December against the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes as when things began to shift, and they pointed to a comeback win over the Boston Bruins on the eve of the All-Star Break as a major turning point as well.
But something happened after all that, with the team's playoff hopes dwindling, that was the true catalyst that propelled the Panthers on the run that took them all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.
It was Wednesday, March 29.
Exactly 150 days ago.
The Panthers were in Toronto.
They had lost four straight games and sat three points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the final Wild Card spot with only eight games left on the schedule.
After scoring a minute into the game and taking a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, Florida allowed a goal 3:13 into the second period and then just 34 seconds later, Toronto appeared to take a 2-1 lead after turning the Panthers over in their own end and converting on an odd-man rush the other way.
Now Florida ended up successfully challenging the play as the Maple Leafs were offside when they entered the Panthers zone, but it was during that review when Maurice did something that altered the course of the remainder of the season.
He absolutely, completely and totally lost his shit on the Panthers players.
“When I called (for the review) I knew it was offside,” Maurice said after the game. “And then I thought it was a very nice opportunity to share feelings.”
Maurice stormed from one end of the bench to the other, his face beet-red as he screamed expletives in every direction.
He ripped off his glasses after the initial outburst, and there was a brief pause in the yelling when he stopped to tie his shoe.
Afterwards, Maurice would call the bench blowup "cathartic."
“It was not calculated,” he explained. “I was just honest. It was where I was at. If I could have yelled louder, if I could’ve been (expletive) more profane than I was, I would’ve. I'm not gifted enough. I needed to channel my father, who’s a gifted cursor. That was all I had. I was honest. That’s how I felt.”
As for exactly what Maurice said…
"You don't want to know," Panthers Captain Sasha Barkov said when asked. "It definitely got us going."
That's for sure.
Florida came back that night in Toronto, winning 3-2 in overtime after scoring late in the third period to tie things up, and they didn't lose another game for nearly two weeks.
The Panthers went on a 6-0-1 stretch that got them into the playoffs as the eight-seed, and the rest, as they say, is history.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqoL9n9Ox6Q[/embed]