Maurice explains midgame blow-up: Panthers 'needed some profanity'

Warning: Story contains coarse language

Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice didn't hesitate to justify his Game 5 tirade Tuesday, saying after the contest that his team were short on profanity.

"I don't know the exact words of the message. I wasn't mad at them. I understood what they were going through. I just thought they needed some profanity in their life, and I brought some," Maurice explained postgame. "I don't excel at a lot of things in life, but fuck me, am I good at that."

Paul Maurice doesn't look too happy with his team in Game 5. pic.twitter.com/2GzgKtrjUg

- Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 15, 2024

Although the Boston Bruins ultimately won 2-1, Maurice's blow-up produced immediate results, as the Panthers scored on the next shift to even the contest 1-1.

The Panthers had a chance to close out the series with a victory, but the defeat sends the series back to Boston for Game 6, where Maurice is anticipating quite the scene.

"It's gonna be an absolute barnburner in there. There'll be 18,000 cameras on the morning skate just to see how many sips of the water bottle Brad Marchand takes," Maurice said. "There's going to be some high-end investigative journalism. Guys, go home and get a nap because you've got some shit to do in a couple days."

Marchand, the Bruins' captain, missed Games 4 and 5 with an upper-body injury, and his status moving forward is unclear.

Game 6 goes Friday at TD Garden.

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