When Panthers Coach Knew Game 6 Vs. Bruins Was ‘Guaranteed Win’

Some members of the Panthers surely were annoyed when the fire alarms at their Boston hotel went off Friday afternoon, hours before a pivotal tilt at TD Garden.

But for head coach Paul Maurice, the sirens were music to his ears.

A disrupted nap ultimately didn’t faze Florida, which defeated the Bruins 2-1 to clinch a spot in the Eastern Conference finals. The Panthers had the grounds to be confident after so much recent success on Causeway Street, but the hotel debacle made Maurice even more sure his club was going to show up under the bright lights.

“Superstitions, right? In my career, the number of times that things got messed up at a hotel — and we stay at wonderful hotels. This is not a complaint. The hotel we’re staying at is gorgeous. But if something gets messed up, it’s like a guaranteed win,” Maurice told reporters, per a team-provided video.”

Gamesmanship is aplenty in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and teams will try a variety of things to knock their opponent down a peg. But if Maurice’s track record tells the Rangers anything, they shouldn’t try any funny business at Florida’s hotel in New York.

Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals is set for Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.