This Day in Hockey History – June 1, 1996 – Panthers Pounce Penguins

Only three seasons into their now 25-year franchise, the Florida Panthers made it to the Stanley Cup finals. To do so, they finished third in the Atlantic Division with 92 points (41-31-10), knocked out the Boston Bruins (4-1), and then defeated both Pennsylvanian teams. Having eliminated the Philadelphia Flyers (4-2), the Panthers dove into a gritty seven-game conference finals battle with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The decision-game took place on June 1, 1996.

The Miami-area received an NHL franchise in 1993. In drafting players, the Panthers focused on defense. Still, they ran into trouble with the Penguins early on. Florida’s home-opener was marred by a 2-1 loss to Pittsburgh. Another loss to the Penguins, on February 1, 1994, resulted in a hand-injury that put Panthers goalie John “Beezer” Vanbiesbrouck out of commission for about a month. Although that cost Florida a spot in the playoffs, they still set a record for the best first-season finish by an expansion team.

The Panthers began the 1995-96 season by firing of coach Roger Neilson and hiring his replacement, Doug MacLean. To add to the feeling of instability, their owner mentioned relocating the team. Despite this, the Panthers pulled through and advanced through the playoffs.

Heavily favored to win the series, the Penguins were stalled by the stellar goaltending of Vanbiesbrouck, the first player ever chosen by the Panthers in the 1993 Entry Draft. Throughout the first six games, he mostly kept the powerhouses (Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr) from the scoreboard and only allowed 14 goals. In Game 7, held at Pittsburgh’s Civic Arena, Vanbiesbrouck blocked 39 of 40 shots on goal. Throughout the series, he had made 210 saves. The Penguins coach, Ed Johnston, complimented, “I don’t think I’ve seen anybody in the zone Beezer’s been in. We couldn’t get a pea past him.”

The one goal that snuck past Vanbiesbrouck in the final was not enough to cost the team the victory. Of their goaltender, Captain Brian Skrudland commented, “He means everything to us. He’s just been unbelievable from Day One of this thing.” Vanbiesbrouck himself could hardly express his joy. “I’m so happy and spent, the emotions are hard to show right now. But I know that everybody in South Florida is showing their emotion. I can feel that emotion just sitting here.”

On the offensive side, center Tom Fitzgerald (the first forward ever drafted by the Panthers) potted the game-winner on a dumped puck. The game was tied 1-1 at 6:18 into the third period, and Fitzgerald’s only thought was to get off the ice after a lengthy shift. Not seeing anyone to pass to, he skated past the blue line and fired a slapshot towards the net. After knocking against defenseman Dean Wilkinson’s stick, it popped over goalie Tom Barrasso’s shoulder or elbow. Fitzgerald described the play, “I just put the shot on net, it went off Wilkinson’s stick, and the next thing I knew the red light was on. I never even saw it go in, to be perfectly honest. I don’t even know how fast it was going. It hit the stick and went on end. It dropped a little on him. I think it would have been on net anyway.” Scoring a goal off what he jokingly called “A Fitzgerald Special” or “A knuckleball off a stick,” Fitzgerald admitted, “It surprised me. I’m sure it surprised Barrasso.” After the game ended with a 3-1 victory, he commented, “I’m kind of numb right now. This is every boy’s dream – we’re going to the Stanley Cup finals. We’re going. I can’t believe it. This team deserves it.”

By winning 3-1, in their 100th game of the season, the Panthers became the 14th team to rally from a 3-2 deficit to win the conference final or Cup final. A third-year team had not made it to the Stanley Cup finals since the New York Islanders of 1975. That Islanders team and this Panthers team had three members in common. One of them, Panthers President Bill Torrey, commented, “The backbone of this team, from day one, from the first game we ever played, was to play hard. It’s just drive, drive, drive.”

In the locker room after the game, Captain Brian Skrudland noted, “Just three years ago we came into this league. Now we’re having some fun, huh?” His teammates donned tees and hats embossed with “Eastern Conference Champions” and danced around the trophy perched on a table in the middle of the room. Coach MacLean cautioned, “You have to get ready and get back to work. It’s been a fairy-tale, dream-type season. But let’s hope it continues.”

Although they had made it to the Stanley Cup finals, the Panthers found themselves outmatched by the Colorado Avalanche, who had been the Quebec Nordiques the season prior. Colorado swept Florida to take home the Cup for the first time in their franchise’s history.

Since then, the Panthers have returned to the playoffs four times. They set a record for the longest stretch between postseason appearances of ten consecutive years between 2000-01 and 2010-11. However, in the two times they reached the playoffs since then, they placed first in their division at the end of the regular season.

Additional Sources:

• Stephen Laroche, Changing the Game: A History of NHL Expansion (Toronto: ECW Press, 2014), kindle version.
• “Pinch Yourself,” South Florida Sun Sentinel, 2 June 1996, pp. 1A and 12A.
• “Rats in the Cup Unbelievable!” South Florida Sun Sentinel, 2 June 1996, pp. 1C and 5C.
• “Stanley Cup Playoffs,” South Florida Sun Sentinel, 2 June 1996, pp. 3C-5C.
• Dave Molinari, “Panthers frustrate Penguins and advance to the Stanley Cup final,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2 June 1996, pp. D1 and D4.
• Gerry Dulac, “Beezer’s Game 1 save was a shot in the arm,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2 June 1996, p. D5.