It was a rough ending to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final for the Florida Panthers.
As the first overtime session was winding down, Panthers forward Tomas Nosek was called for delay of game after shooting the puck over the glass from inside Florida’s defensive zone.
Now, there may have been contact with the stick of Oilers forward Vasily Podkolzin, who was trying to deflect the puck as Nosek shot it, but nevertheless, the penalty was called and Nosek was sent off.
A few moments later, Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl sent the Oilers faithful into a frenzy when he scored the game-winning overtime goal.
The situation is about as rough as you can get for an athlete, and nobody in the building probably felt worse than Nosek.
That’s where his teammates come into play.
Florida is known throughout the league as having one of the best, tightknit locker rooms, full of genuinely good men with exceptional work ethics.
“That stuff happens in the game of hockey, it’s a bad break,” said Panthers forward Brad Marchand. “He’s been a great player for us all year, all playoffs, so we have his back with that one.”
While the penalty proved to be costly for Florida, they full expect the Stanley Cup Final to be a long series.
As such, there will likely be situations where Nosek will have to show up and provide the kind of steady, reliable play that he’s been bringing all season.
After Game 1, Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice explained that at times like this, you don’t let your player wallow in sorrow or self-pity. You surround them with love and find ways to lift them up.
“You just remind him after the game of being down 0-2 to Toronto and that line came in and changed everything for us, and how we’re not here without Thomas Nosek,” Maurice said. “It’s a tough break, so we just make sure he doesn’t get eat alone tonight. He’s got lots of people sitting at his table and reminding him how good he’s been to us.”
Indeed, Nosek played in 59 regular season games for Florida, and in addition to adding nine points and a plus-four rating while primarily centering the fourth line and playing regular minutes on the penalty kill, he was also one of the best even strength defenders on the team.
That has remained true during the playoffs, where he’s added three assists and a plus-five rating in 11 postseason games so far.
Wednesday night was likely not the best for Nosek, but he’ll get plenty of positivity and reminders of all he’s done well for the team in the time they’re together before Game 2 arrives.
“It’s going to be a tough one,” Maurice said. “He’s going to eat that one for a day, but, from his penalty kill to, again, that line really changed the flow of that Toronto series, (so we’ll) just remind him about that a whole bunch of times before the puck drops.”
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Photo caption: Feb 25, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Florida Panthers left wing Tomas Nosek (92) awaits the face-off against the Nashville Predators during the second period at Bridgestone Arena. (Steve Roberts-Imagn Images)
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