The Stanley Cup playoffs are well underway, and in the East, the Florida Panthers lead 2-1 against their state rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning. The rivalry is thriving, to say the least. Even the coaches are chirping at each other, with Jon Cooper taking a jab at Paul Maurice during a press conference—a chirp that Paul Maurice’s wife had something to say about.
When reporters asked Paul Maurice about a hit from Brandon Hagel on Aleksander Barkov—a hit that earned Hagel a one-game suspension—Maurice responded, “No, the only players we hit are the ones who have pucks.”
Jon Cooper’s response
During Game Three, which the Lightning won 5-1, Matthew Tkachuk of the Panthers received a five-minute major penalty for interference on Jake Guentzel. In a postgame interview, Jon Cooper was asked about the interference call. He then channeled his inner Paul Maurice:
“The only players we hit are the ones with pucks,” Cooper said, according to Florida Hockey Now.
Cooper’s quick-witted response drew a lot of laughter in the press room and was replayed on TV later that night. That’s when Paul Maurice—and his wife—saw it.
Paul Maurice’s wife’s reaction
Paul Maurice was at home with his wife, watching the Maple Leafs play the Senators, when he saw Jon Cooper’s interview.
“He chirped me. I’m at home, watching the Senators game, and he chirped me, right? Which I appreciate. He used my own words on me too, although I’m not sure it’s applicable to the events on the ice. But it was still good. My wife got a good chuckle; she thought it was really funny,” Maurice told Florida Hockey Now.
Game four will be played Monday night in Sunrise.
