Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice clearly wasn’t happy about Leon Draisaitl’s hit that took out his captain in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday.
Aleksander Barkov left the game after taking a hit from Leon Draisaitl along the boards in the Panthers’ end with 9:28 remaining in the final frame, immediately going down to the ice before being helped to the locker room by training staff. He didn’t return.
Asked how he felt about the hit after a 4-1 win, Maurice was short and to the point.
“This isn’t the Oprah Winfrey Show. My feelings don’t matter,” he said.
Maurice also said he had no update on Barkov.
Asked if he expected the league to take another look at the hit and consider supplemental discipline for Draisaitl, Maurice said: “The league looks at everything.”
Draisaitl appeared to catch Barkov up high with an elbow and was assessed a minor penalty for roughing.
Barkov didn’t return to the game. He ended up with 17:47 of ice time and registered two shots and one block before exiting.
However, the Panthers did score on the ensuing power play, when Evan Rodrigues buried his second goal of the game, giving Florida a 3-1 lead.
Draisaitl, per Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic, thought the hit was fine.
“I don’t think that’s frustration. It was just a hit. I don’t think there’s anything dirty about it. Maybe I got him a little high. Certainly not with intent to injure, though, or anything like that,” he said.
The 28-year-old Barkov had 80 points in 73 regular-season games for Florida this year. He has added 19 points and six goals through 19 post-season games.
