EDMONTON, Alberta — Nick Cousins played every game of the Florida Panthers’ 2023 run to the Stanley Cup Final and 69 more during this past season.
He was in the lineup in Game 6 Friday night against the Edmonton Oilers, a 5-1 Panthers loss that sends the series back across North America. And now it’s a question of whether Cousins will play in Game 7 back at home Monday night.
Cousins has been in and out of the lineup in the playoffs, a healthy scratch the past eight games dating to early in the Eastern Conference final. He replaced Kyle Okposo on Florida’s fourth line and skated 15 shifts for just under 10 minutes.
Coach Paul Maurice, who has changed up a fourth-line winger or two just about every time the Panthers lost this postseason, chalked up Cousins being out as a product of general manager Bill Zito acquiring Okposo and fellow forward Vladimir Tarasenko at the trade deadline. That depth has helped them get this far and given the coaching staff a bevy of options.
Cousins was the latest button pushed.
“We found that the players that come out and then come in, they never come in afraid to make a mistake,” Maurice said, complimenting Ryan Lomberg’s play when he made his series debut in Game 5. “They come in wired. They sat out, they don’t like it. It’s not a negative emotion. It’s that they want to be a part of it so bad.”
Cousins wanted to be part of it, but he tried to handle sitting out like a professional.
“It doesn’t really change my personality,” he said. “Just come in with a good attitude and support the guys any way I can. I’ll always be a good teammate whether we win or lose. But the guys have done a really good job of getting some wins and getting to us to this point.”
Evan Bouchard has, rightfully so, gotten a lot of attention for his 32 points, second only to Connor McDavid among all scorers in the playoffs, with his 26 assists being the most by a defenseman in an NHL postseason. But the Oilers are only in the final because of a change coach Kris Knoblauch made last round inserting Philip Broberg into the lineup and reeling off three consecutive victories to beat Dallas.
Broberg has two goals and an assist in nine strong games, playing just under 16 minutes a night.
“We put him in a difficult situation,” Knoblauch said. “Game 4, Dallas, almost a must-win game and we put him in a situation where he played really well, and since then, he’s only continued to play better and better. We’re very fortunate to have him, and we wouldn’t be in this situation without him. I think he’s helped our team.”
Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner not only stopped 20 of the 21 shots he faced in Game 6 to keep the series going, he also had a primary assist on Darnell Nurse’s empty-net goal with 3:03 left. Skinner made a miraculous save on Matthew Tkachuk, then played the puck to Nurse, who sealed the victory.
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