Well, Paul Maurice and his fiery pack of Panthers finally sealed the deal once again. Carolina came into Game 5 swinging, picking up right where they left off in Game 4. That 2-0 lead in the first period had the Lenovo Center buzzing like they were seconds from an underdog miracle. But Florida? Oh, they weren’t having any of that fairytale stuff. They roared back with a wild three-goal storm in the second, flipping the script. And when Carter Verhaeghe buried the go-ahead dagger in the third? Yeah, that was game, set, and see ya from Raleigh.

Now it’s back to the Cup grind again for the Cats. This’ll be their fourth dance on the Stanley Cup stage, and yep, third time in a row. They’re either gearing up to face Dallas or gearing down for a gritty rematch with Edmonton. But don’t expect any early confetti from the Florida bench. As Matthew Tkachuk coolly put it postgame, “We know what we’re capable of, and we’re not going to celebrate until we get that.” Meanwhile, Coach Paul Maurice isn’t just watching the scoreboard; he’s getting real serious about the crew coming back in.

When Hockey on Fanatics threw Paul Maurice that curveball about how much his feelings on the Game 4 performance mixed with those three key guys coming back for Game 5, he kept it super real and didn’t sugarcoat a thing. He said, “Well none, I mean I don’t — I have no say in when players play and when they don’t, none.” Basically, it wasn’t some grand plan or magic timing. Paul made it clear that the “balancing act of it wouldn’t have been any different than the end of the season that we had,” which was crazy tough with their schedule and all the minor injuries flying around. No one was benched just to rest because they were up 3-0 or anything like that. It was about who’s ready to play and who can help the team right then and there.

And Maurice didn’t hold back on the tough love either, dropping the line: “If you’re not—if the guy that—if you can’t be better than the guy that I’m going to put in your spot—you’re not playing.” That’s straight-up accountability right there. He added, “So we got good players, we got healthy guys that won’t play, and everybody that’s in the lineup can play.” No favors, no special treatment. It’s a grind every night, and if you don’t bring your A-game, someone else will take your spot without hesitation.

Just before Game 5 puck dropped, Jameson Olive jumped on X and dropped some straight-up locker room tea, and shared, Sam Reinhart, A.J. Greer, and Niko Mikkola were all back in the mix. Panthers fans could finally breathe easy ‘cause Coach Paul Maurice gave the green light after Wednesday’s morning skate. Reinhart’s been sidelined since that gnarly low shot from Sebastian Aho in Game 2, while Mikkola and Greer picked up their fair share of bruises in the gritty Game 3 win. They had to watch Game 4 from the bench, tough 3-0 loss and all, but then?

They were back strapped in and ready to shake the ice again. Reinhart’s been the Panthers’ scoring maestro all season clocking the most ice time among forwards. Mikkola’s been pulling his weight too with three goals and two assists, while Greer might fly under the radar, but don’t forget; he bagged that clutch game-winner back in Game 1. And well indeed these players were important and even Paul Maurice knows it!

Paul Maurice makes an honest confession!

Before the chaos of Game 5 even began, the scales were already tilting in Florida’s favor. And once fans heard the big three; Sam Reinhart, A.J. Greer, and Niko Mikkola, were back in the mix? Oh, it was on. That Game 4 loss? Starting to look a whole lot like the side effect of missing their firepower. Once they were cleared, the lineup felt whole again, and spoiler alert: Florida didn’t waste a second reminding everyone who’s boss.

Sam Reinhart especially brought the noise. He’d been Florida’s regular-season scoring machine with 81 points, and in the playoffs, he didn’t cool off; dropping 11 points from four goals and seven assists. His absence in Game 4 was so noticeable that Coach Paul Maurice straight-up said, “He changes the way you view our power play when he’s not there, in terms of who you’ve got to cover off.” And now that he was back? That power play started cooking again, and it showed.

As for the Hurricanes? They were probably kicking themselves watching that lineup announcement drop before puck drop. The return of Florida’s top dogs wasn’t exactly a secret, but it was the kind of energy shift you can’t game-plan around. Sure, Carolina had home ice and Jaccob Slavin was out there doing work; he was on the ice for all three Canes goals in Game 4, but morale only takes you so far. Maybe they thought about going heavy and getting physical, but trying to out-muscle a squad like Florida? Yeah… not the wisest bet when the Cats are locked in and hungry.