Coach Paul Maurice jokes that Panthers are trading captain Aleksander Barkov ahead of Game 3
This guy just cracks himself up...
We learned in Round 3 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs that Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice has principles.
I, of course, am alluding to the odd principle that Maurice holds when it comes to handshake lineups.
Today, we learned that Maurice also has jokes.
When asked about Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov and his lack of production lately, Maurice deadpanned, "Yeah, we're trading him."
Maurice is joking, of course. But it's kind of a silly question to ask, in my opinion. I mean, it's not like Barkov is a useless player if he's not producing on the scoreboard. He's literally the best defensive forward in the NHL. If he's not putting up points, he's earning his keep by turning over pucks, taking away scoring chances and winning face-offs. Barkov's value isn't just calculated by goals and assists, he brings so, so, soooo much more to his team thank counting stats.
A silly question deserves a silly response. Well played by Maurice.
Read below for our earlier report on the Panthers' lineup for Game 3, published by Hockey Feed staff writer Jonathan Larrivee.
The Florida Panthers were victorious over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, but in spite of that Panthers head coach Paul Maurice has decided to eschew the old motto of 'If it aint broke don't fix it' and will be making changes to his lineup ahead of Game 3.
Maurice confirmed on Monday that Panthers forward Jesper Boqvist would be coming out of the lineup in favor of the returning AJ Greer. Both men have been used sparingly by Maurice when in the lineup but Boqvist has seen his ice time drop considerably in the Stanley Cup Final. In Game 1 he had less than 8 minutes of ice time over 14 shifts, totaling just 7 minutes and 58 seconds, and his 19 shifts in Game 2 only amounted to 8 minutes and 41 seconds of ice time.
That may not seem like that steep of a decrease but when you consider the fact that both Game 1 and Game 2 went to double overtime, Maurice has shown relatively little faith in the Swedish forward in this series. It remains to be seen if Greer will see more ice time in Game 3, or if Maurice will use him as sparingly as he has Boqvist thus far in this series.
The Edmonton Oilers have made changes of their own with some fairly significant changes to their blue line and they may very well be forced into a change to their forward group in Game 3 with the status of forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins still unclear.
