The Team Played At The Miami Arena

The team played at the Miami Arena, and its first major stars were New York Rangers

goaltender castoff John Vanbiesbrouck, rookie Rob Niedermayer, and Scott Mellanby, who scored 30 goals. Their first game was a 4-4 tie on the road against the Chicago Blackhawks. The first win in franchise history was a 2-0 shutout of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Thunderdome before a then-NHL record crowd of 27,227. The Panthers had one of the most successful first seasons of any expansion team (and the best first year of any NHL team), finishing one point below .500 and narrowly missing out on the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Their first-year success was attributed mainly to the "trap defense" that first-year coach Roger Neilson implemented. Cheap Jerseys This conservative style was widely criticized by NHL teams; some even suggested that the Panthers were ruining the game at the time.After another close brush with the playoffs in 199495, Neilson was fired and replaced by Doug MacLean. The team then acquired Ray Sheppard from the San Jose Sharks at the trade deadline in 199596 and looked toward the playoffs for the first time. Also during that season, a very unusual goal celebration developed in Miami. On the night of the Panthers' 199596 home opener, a rat scurried across the team's locker room. Mellanby reacted by "one-timing" the rat against the wall, killing it.[3] That night, he scored two goals, which Vanbiesbrouck quipped was "a rat trick." Two nights later, as the story found its way into the world, a few fans threw rubber rats on the ice in celebration of a goal. The rubber rat count went from 16 for the third home game to over 2,000 during the playoffs.

In the 1996 playoffs, as the fourth seed, the Panthers faced the Boston Bruins in the first round and won in five games. Bill Lindsay's famous series-clinching goal is still a trademark image for the incredible run the third-year franchise went on. The Panthers went on to upset the top-seeded Philadelphia Flyers in six games and then the second-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins in seven (with Tom Fitzgerald scoring what would end up being the game-winning goal) to reach the Stanley Cup Final. Their opponent, the Colorado Avalanche, Wholesale soccer uniforms swept the Panthers in four games. Uwe Krupp scored the winning goal on a slap shot from the blue line for the Avalanche in the third overtime of Game 4 to defeat the Panthers 1-0. Colorado was led by captain Joe Sakic in the franchise's first year in Denver after moving from Quebec City. GM Murray was honored as NHL Executive of the Year.

by: bettywhite

POST COMMENT

Pan American Metals Of Miami Says Prudent Investors Should Be Transferring Assets To Gold As Pan American Metals Of Miami Says The Gold Market Is Behaving Unusually At Present Pan American Metals Of Miami Says Silver Poised To Rebound Strongly Tax Preparation Miami Pan American Metals Of Miami Says Outlook For Next Week Optimistic But Dependent On Outcome Of Sunda Precious Metals Recover As Dollar Weakens Says Pan American Metals Of Miami Emergency Electricians In Miami Can Save You A Headache After A Dangerous Storm White Metals Share In Gold's Recent Gains Says Pan American Metals Of Miami Gold Gains As European Standoff Continues Says Pan American Metals Of Miami Physician Accountants Miami Pan American Metals Of Miami Says Gold Corrected Slightly But Still Shows Significant Gains Over The Spend Passover In Miami 3 Best Places Await Boarders Of Flights To Miami