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BOSTON -- Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice considered it a good omen when the fire alarm went off at the team hotel on Friday afternoon, just as he was settling in for a pregame nap.
"In my career, the number of times that something got messed up at the hotel ... it's like a guaranteed win," Maurice said after a 2-1 victory over Boston earned the Panthers a spot in the Eastern Conference finals. "I said, 'If this holds true, I guarantee we're winning today.'"
Maurice's superstition held true a few hours later when defenseman Gustav Forsling scored the tiebreaking goal with 1:33 left, and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 22 shots to help the Panthers beat the Bruins 2-1 and clinch their second-round playoff series in six games.
A year after playing for the Stanley Cup, the Panthers will meet the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference finals. Maurice may have been deprived of a nap on Friday, but his team has five days to prepare for Game 1 against the Rangers on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
"I'm not doing that. I'm not doing anything with that," he said. "I need a day off."
Anton Lundell scored for the Panthers and also set up the game-winner when his shot was deflected to the left side of the net. Forsling came in and beat Jeremy Swayman on the short side.
"I didn't see it go in. I just saw someone else react. It was amazing," said Forsling, who scored 10 goals this season -- one of them a game-winner.