1995-1996 Florida Panthers: Rats in Miami Beach

1995-1996 Florida Panthers: Rats in Miami Beach

1995-1996 Florida Panthers: Rats in Miami Beach

The Florida Panthers began as an expansion franchise in the National Hockey League in the 1993-1994 regular season. It took a couple of seasons to build a foundation that could be respectable on the ice, and once they found the right combination of talent, the Panthers surprisingly took off in the 1995-1996 regular season. Along with the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Panthers aimed to establish a hockey fan base in the Sunshine State of Florida.

In the 1995-1996 NHL season the Florida Panthers went 41-31-10 with 92 points, finishing 11 points behind the Philadelphia Flyers in the Atlantic Division. On their home ice at the Miami Arena the Panthers went 25-12-4 while they went 16-19-6 on the road. The Panthers handled head-to-head play fairly well as they went 3-1-1 against the New York Islanders and Washington Capitals, 3-1 against the Hartford Whalers and Ottawa Senators, 3-3 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-2-1 against the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers, 2-2 against the Buffalo Sabres, and 2-0 against the Edmonton Oilers, San Jose Sharks and Toronto Maple Leafs.

A rather amusing story involving right winger Scott Mellanby occurred at the home opener. A rat somehow got onto the ice, and as a response, Mellanby gave the rat a “one time” slap shot against the wall, effectively killing the rat. Panthers fans picked up on this as they threw 16 rubber rats onto the ice in the first 3 home games. Mellanby had 2 goals in the home opener after this unusual event.

Mellanby had 32 goals and 38 assists for 70 points with 19 power play goals, 16 power play assists and 3 game-winning goals off 225 shots. Center Rob Niedermayer had 26 goals and 35 assists for 61 points with 11 power play goals, 12 power play assists and 6 game-winning goals off 155 shots. Left winger Johan Garpenlov had 23 goals and 28 assists for 51 points with 8 power play goals, 14 power play assists and 7 game-winning goals off 130 shots. Right winger Jody Hull had 20 goals and 17 assists off 120 shots. Center Stu Barnes had 19 goals and 25 assists for 44 points with 8 power play goals, 13 power play assists and 5 game-winning goals off 158 shots.

Center Jesse Belanger had 17 goals and 21 assists with 7 power play goals and 13 power play assists off 140 shots. Center Tom Fitzgerald had 13 goals and 21 assists with 6 short-handed goals off 141 shots. Right winger Radek Dvorak had 13 goals and 14 assists wit 4 game-winning goals off 126 shots. Left winger Bill Lindsay had 12 goals and 22 assists off 118 shots. Left winger Dave Lowry had 10 goals and 14 assists with 5 power play goals in 63 games. Defenseman Ed Jovanovski had 10 goals and 11 assists off 116 shots.

Goaltender John Vanbriesbrouck was the the primary option to guard Florida’s net as he went 26-20-7, allowing 142 goals off 1473 shots in 3178 minutes, recording 1331 saves, a .904 save percentage, a 2.68 goals against average and 2 shutouts. Goaltender Mark Fitzpatrick went 15-11-3, allowing 88 goals off 810 shots in 1786 minutes, recording 722 saves, an .891 save percentage and a 2.96 goals against average.

The Panthers enjoyed a 7-game winning streak early on in the regular season, which began with a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on November 2, and it ended with a 5-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on November 14.

Over 2,000 rubber rats would be thrown by Miami fans onto home ice during the playoffs as the Panthers had a memorable run, the first deep playoff run for the franchise. The Panthers eliminated the Boston Bruins 4 games to 1 in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. In Game 1 on April 17 at the Miami Arena, the Panthers won 6-3. Boston center Sandy Moger and right winger Rick Tocchet each scored goals while right winger Ray Sheppard came through with 2 goals for Florida. Also scoring goals for Florida were Garpenlov, Hull, left winger Mike Hough and defenseman Jason Woolley. In Game 2 on April 22 the Panthers beat the Bruins 6-2. Defenseman Ray Borque and right winger Steve Heinse each scored goals for Boston while David Lowry scored 2 goals for Florida. Sheppard had 1 goal and 3 assists, and Woolley, Jovanovski and Garpenlov also scored 1 goal each.

In Game 3 on April 24 at the FleetCenter the Panthers beat the Bruins 4-2. Jody Hull scored 2 goals while Hough and Mellanby each scored 1 goal for Florida while Tocchet and right winger Shawn McEachern scored goals for Boston. In Game 4 on April 25 the Bruins beat the Panthers 6-2. In Game 5 on April 27 at the Miami Arena, the Panthers put the Bruins away with a 4-3 win. Boston had goals scored by Moger, left winger Ted Donato and center Jozef Stumpel while Florida countered with goals scored by Lindsay, Lowry, defenseman Paul Laus and the Captain of the team, center Brian Skrudland.

The Eastern Conference Semifinals saw the Panthers down the Philadelphia Flyers 4 games to 2. In Game 1 on May 2 at the CoreStates Spectrum the Panthers blanked the Flyers 2-0. Barnes and Lowry scored 1 goal each. The Flyers came back to win Game 2 on May 4 by the score of 3-2, and then they won again in Game 3 on May 7 at the Miami Arena by the score of 3-1. In Game 4 on May 9 the Panthers won a thrilling 4-3 overtime contest. Right winger Mikael Renberg scored 2 goals for Philadelphia and center Rod Brind’Amour scored 1 goal while the combination of Niedermayer’s 2 goals, a goal by Barnes and the game-winning goal by Lowry was enough for Florida.

In Game 5 on May 12 back at the CoreStates Spectrum, the Panthers beat the Flyers 2-1 in double overtime. Center Eric Lindros, Philadelphia’s bonafide star, scored a goal while Barnes and Hough each scored goals for Florida. Hough had the game-winner. Finally the Panthers eliminated the Flyers with a 4-1 win in Game 6 on May 14 at the Miami Arena. Left winger John LeClair scored the only Philadelphia goal while Lindsay, Lowry, Garpenlov and Niedermayer all scored goals for Florida.

The Eastern Conference Finals was a tough test for the Panthers as they went the 7-game distance with the Pittsburgh Penguins. In Game 1 on May 18 at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena the Panthers won 5-1. Fitzgerald and Lowry both scored 2 goals while Mellanby had 1 goal and 2 assists. Center Kevin Miller scored the only Pittsburgh goal. The Penguins won Game 2 by the score of 3-2 on May 20. In Game 3 on May 24 the Panthers won 5-2 at the Miami Arena. 1 goal each was scored by centers Petr Nedved and Bryan Smolinski for Pittsburgh while Florida countered with 2 goals scored by Barnes, 1 goal and assist by Dvorak, and goals by Sheppard and center Martin Straka. Lowry had 3 assists.

The Penguins took Game 4 on May 26 by the score of 2-1, and then Game 5 on May 28 with a 3-0 shutout. In Game 6 on May 30 at the Miami Arena the Panthers won 4-3. Along with Miller right winger Tomas Sandstrom and left winger Joe Dziedzic scored goals for Pittsburgh while Lindsay had 1 goal and 1 assist for Florida. The combination of goals scored by Lowry, Niedermayer and Straka followed.

Finally in Game 7 on June 1 at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena, the Panthers won 3-1. Fitzgerald had 1 goal and assist, with his goal being the game-winner. Garpenlov and Hough also scored goals. Nedved scored the only Pittsburgh goal.

The Stanley Cup Finals slipped away from the Panthers in a 4-game sweep as they fell to the Colorado Avalanche in that franchise’s first year in Denver. However, the Panthers had a successful season overall as they won the Prince of Wales Trophy, and General Manager Bryan Murray won the NHL Executive of the Year Award. Ed Jovanovski was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team.