Nosek handles guilt of costly Game 1 penalty with help from Panthers teammates
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EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Tomas Nosek had been dealing with the guilt of his puck-over-the-glass penalty ever since the Florida Panthers lost Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on the ensuing power-play goal by Leon Draisaitl.
He’s not sure how long it took to get over it.
“It was tough,” Nosek said Friday after an optional morning skate. “You don’t want to be the one guy who costs us the game. But obviously everybody can make a mistake. It happened in a bad time in overtime, and it cost us the game. But it’s in the past, and now we’re looking forward to just keep doing my job.”
Nosek gets to keep doing his job. Coach Paul Maurice said he was not making any lineup changes for Game 2 against the Edmonton Oilers. That means A.J. Greer remains out with an undisclosed injury, though Maurice said the fourth-liner is on track for Game 3 on Monday in Sunrise.
The penalty 18 minutes into overtime came when Edmonton's Jake Walman was pressuring Nosek in Florida's defensive zone. Power plays are rare in OT in the playoffs with officials careful about not wanting to have too big an influence on the outcome, but sending the puck over the glass is an automatic call.
“Everybody’s making mistakes," Nosek said. "I think it’s a part of the game. It’s a sport, and you just focus on the next game and preparing yourself for it like every other game.”
Nosek, one of several newcomers who weren't around last year when the Panthers won the Cup, is in his second final after helping Vegas get there in 2018. He said teammates have been good about encouraging and supporting him since the costly penalty.
"They’ve been really helpful," Nosek said. "The guys came to me and said, ‘Don’t worry about it.’ It’s good.”
Linemate Jonah Gadjovich, who reported feeling great after missing some time in Game 1 because of injury, said Nosek shouldn't feel bad about the mistake.
“It happens," Gadjovich said. “Tough bounce, but he does so many good things for us, no one’s mad at him, no one’s anything. It’s just stuff like that happens in a game.”
Coy McDavid
Connor McDavid made a pass befitting his status as the best hockey player on the planet to set up the Oilers' tying goal in Game 1, with Mattias Ekholm scoring it. Asked Friday whether the pass from behind the net was intended for Ekholm or winger Evander Kane, he was unwilling to share that information.
“I won’t say," McDavid responded. "All that matters is it ended up where it needed to be, and we scored.”
McDavid also assisted on Draisaitl's overtime goal, his playoff-leading 28th point in 17 games during this run.
Coaching carousel
Florida coach Paul Maurice said earlier this week he roots for three teams when he's watching games around the NHL: Vancouver for Jim Rutherford, Winnipeg because he was there for so long and loves the organization and the market, and Dallas for close friend Peter DeBoer.
The Stars are probably off that list now after firing DeBoer on Friday following a third consecutive loss in the Western Conference final and comments made about the decision to pull franchise goaltender Jake Oettinger in the decisive Game 5 loss.
“He’ll be all right," Maurice said. "He’s a good coach. I think you get elite teams, you’ve got to push them real hard to get to where they get to, and then at some point you need a summer off, pick your spot. He’s going to be OK.”
DeBoer's dismissal opens a job a day after Boston hired Marco Sturm to fill its vacancy, the last one left in the league. On Wednesday, Pittsburgh went with a little bit of a surprise hiring longtime assistant Dan Muse.
Ekholm, who played in Nashville when Muse was on staff there, is interested to see how it goes for a “super serious guy” with a new school approach.
“I think he’s got all the right tools to be a successful coach,” Ekholm said. "It’s different to be an assistant than a head coach, so he’s got some things to prove but good for him to get an opportunity.”
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl