Florida coach Paul Maurice keeps the day-to-day routine simple. Show up for work early and have copious amounts of coffee. Trust assistant coaches to do their jobs.

I'm not being disrespectful to the other teams I've coached, but the team here is just the best team I've ever coached. It's not really that close.'

No coaches took part in the traditional handshake line following the Florida Panthers ' series-clinching Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final over the Carolina Hurricanes. A brief on-ice exchange between Florida's Paul Maurice and Carolina's Rod Brind'Amour drew attention, but Maurice explained it was intentional, not a snub.