Paul Maurice often delivers quality quotes after games, but on Sunday, he wasn’t up for having a discussion.
The one thing everyone wanted to hear from him was his thoughts on Jacob Trouba’s controversial hit in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final.
Trouba, the captain of the Rangers, delivered a high elbow to the jaw of Evan Rodrigues late in the second period of Sunday’s game.
Officials originally called a major penalty on Trouba for the hit on Rodrigues, who was through on goal if it wasn’t for Trouba’s hit, but after review, it was downgraded to a minor.
Rodrigues fell to the ice immediately after contact and was down on the ice for minutes before he got helped to the locker room.
Rodrigues returned for the third period and saw his Panthers losing Game 3 after a Rangers goal to make it 5-4 in overtime.
Paul Maurice is the kind of coach who always speaks his mind and is not shy about expressing controversial thoughts.
After the Panthers lost their second straight game, everyone was eager to hear what he thought about Trouba’s hit, but he declined to comment.
”I think I’ve got enough on my plate,” he said. ”I’m not going to do any refereeing or player safety tonight.”
On social media, fans were disappointed that Maurice, one of the most verbally honest coaches in the NHL, didn’t comment on the hit that everyone is talking about right now, but they also said the exact same thing about his decision: That he himself coaches some of dirtiest players in the league.
”Maurice realizes how hard it is for him to comment on anyone being dirty against his team given how dirty his players are,” one user said.
”I mean, yeah. He shouldn’t and won’t say anything because his team has the likes of Cousins, Tkachuk & Bennett,” another said.
