The ball’s in the Florida Panthers’ court now. Despite being the defending champs, the Cats couldn’t manage to secure victory against the Maple Leafs in Round 2 yet. Instead, Paul Maurice‘s boys will now head to Scotiabank Center tomorrow for the decisive Game 7. But the veteran coach loves himself a challenge. “The Game 7s, you’ll remember,” Coach Maurice said before Sunday’s match against Toronto at the latter’s home ground.

Thanks to an incredible show of grit by Joseph Woll, the Leafs shut out the reigning champs in Game 6 to avoid elimination. And now, it’s time for the tiebreaker. And it’s not just another Game 7 win that’s on the table for Paul Maurice. Rather, he stands on the cusp of blitzing into a special club if the Miami team manages to subdue their Eastern Conference colleagues tomorrow. And Paul has his locker room locked and loaded for the trek ahead.

In a YouTube upload by the official Florida Panthers account, Paul Maurice could be heard talking about how he and the team is preparing for the upcoming tiebreaker against the Atlantic Division Top seeds. When asked how the veteran coach plans his strategy with the thought that every playoff series could reach Game 7, Maurice said, “You know you when you get to the playoffs you never want to have to walk into your room and say something for the first time,” claiming that unless it’s something inspirational, it doesn’t hold much weight at that point of the series.

“...the Game 7 idea is something that we talk about before every series. We talk about it in the regular season, as a matter of fact,” the Panthers’ coach stated further. Hearing him talk, it’s safe to say that Paul has at least some aces up his sleeve for tomorrow’s game. After all, a victory would mean the world to him right now.

Paul Maurice is 5-0 as a coach in Game 7s. In the list of the most Game 7 career wins, the Florida boss sits at No. 11. Just ahead of him is John Tortorella, the former coach of the New York Rangers, who has six wins and one loss in Game 7s. Now, considering that Tortorella is already retired, Paul’s victory will bring him up to replace the former on the list. Moreover, with almost all the top 10 coaches having already hung up their boots, Maurice could climb further up before calling it quits.

However, the coach has a long way to go to reach the top. Pete DeBoer, the Dallas Stars boss, sits at the top of the pecking order with a pristine 9-0 Game 7 record. And he isn’t done yet, either. However, while Maurice looks to etch his name among NHL legends, he also has more pressing matters to keep himself busy.

The Panthers have enough firepower to cement Paul Maurice’s reputation

The Florida Panthers finished the regular season in third place in the Atlantic Division, behind the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Tampa Bay Lightning. But they showed their worth as soon as they stepped into the postseason. For the second straight year, the Cats were pitted against the Bolts in the first round of the playoffs, and for the second time, they eliminated the in-state arch-rivals from the Stanley Cup contention.

However, the momentum took a hit in Round 2. Thanks to home-ice advantage, the divisional top seeds won both the first two games of the best-of-seven series and looked almost certain to run away with the series, just like they did against the Ottawa Senators in the first stage of the playoffs. But the Panthers aren’t the defending champs for nothing. They won the next three matches (two at the Amerant Arena and one at the Scotiabank Arena) to pull ahead of their Conference comrades.

But the Maple Leafs were reluctant to give up without a fight. With two goals from Max Pacioretty and Auston Matthews and a resolute performance by goalie Joseph Woll, Toronto tied the series to 3-3 in Game 6, forcing things to the final game. Now, while experts continue to claim that the Panthers don’t have what it takes to retain the Cup, it’s up to Matthew Tkachuk & Co. to prove them wrong. So what’s it gonna be? Less than 24 hours to know!