In hockey, for the unfamiliar, the fourth line is the perennially unloved cleanup crew of the team—the enforcers and grinders who fill the minutes between the superstars' shifts.
On the ever-classy Florida Panthers, things seem to work a little differently. As the Panthers polished off their Stanley Cup-clinching 5–1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday, Florida coach Paul Maurice pulled the group aside on the bench and gave them their due.
"I'm going to get you out there. I want you three f---ing guys on the ice for the last shift," Maurice said. "So you throw your s--- off when we win this. Because we're down f---ing 2–0 against Toronto and you f---ers got us here."
In the closing moments of the Cup clinching win, Paul Maurice told his 4th line he was sending them out for the final shift of the game.
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 19, 2025
“I want you 3 guys on the ice when we win this, because we’re down 2-0 against Toronto, and you got us here.” 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ImpyiYbZQf
The Toronto Maple Leafs indeed took a 2–0 lead over the Panthers in the second round of the playoffs, as well as a 2–0 lead in Game 3. Florida rallied to win that game 5–4 in overtime—fourth-line left wing Jonah Gadjovich chipped in a second-period goal—and the series in seven games.
"You get the last shift," Maurice said, and Gadjovich and company closed out Game 6 in style.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Panthers Coach Had Sweetest Speech for Fourth Line Before They Closed Stanley Cup.
