FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — 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. Sit in on meetings when needed. Hammer home a consistent message with players. Swear a little bit sometimes, swear profusely at other times. Hey, it works.

It's three up and three down for Florida Panthers' head coach Paul Maurice. It is not the end of an inning. It is the middle of a brilliant playoff run where Maurice has coached the Panthers for three seasons and has led Florida to the Stanley Cup Finals after each season.

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.