Classic Rewind: Rats Fly as Cats Open 1996 Playoffs With Win Over Bruins

Cinderella came out swinging.

Just three years after opening up their inaugural season in 1993-94, the upstart Florida Panthers roared into their first-ever playoff series with a dominating 6-3 win over the Boston Bruins in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals at Miami Arena on April 17, 1996.

As part of their "Panthers Rewind" series, FOX Sports Florida re-aired the win on Saturday.

Despite entering the playoffs as the fourth seed, the Panthers were still considered underdogs against the fifth-seeded Bruins. After all, Boston, one of the NHL's Original Six, had qualified for the playoffs in each of its last 29 seasons, while the Cats were only just getting their paws wet.

"Heading into the playoffs, I believe in their last 10 games they were 6-2-2," former Panthers defenseman Ed Jovanovski, a rookie during the series, said of facing the Bruins. "They were playing pretty good. We, on the other hand, were 3-6-1, so struggling a little bit heading in."

But with a raucous sellout crowd cheering them on, the Panthers refused to back down.

At 7:37 of the first period, Ray Sheppard, who was acquired by Florida a few months earlier in a trade with a San Jose Sharks, netted the first-ever playoff goal in franchise history when he beat goaltender Bill Ranford to make it 1-0 and trigger a sea of rubber rats hurtling down onto the ice.

The rodent-centric celebration had begun earlier that season when Scott Mellanby one-timed an unlucky rat across the locker room with his stick prior to a 4-3 victory over the Calgary Flames in the team's Home Opener. In the game, Mellanby led the charge on offense with a pair of goals.

Afterwards, John Vanbiesbrouck quipped that Mellanby had registered a "Rat Trick."

The rest, as they say, is history.

Following Sheppard's opening tally, the rats continued to rain down as the Panthers started to pile it on. After Mike Hough made it 2-0 with a backhander from the high slot at 8:02, Jody Hull scored right in front after a long shot from Bill Lindsay to increase the advantage to 3-0 at 8:54.

"We knew with home-ice advantage that we wanted to get on the Boston Bruins fairly quickly," Jovanovski said. "The building, Miami Arena, was electric and excited for playoff hockey, the 14,703 that were there. Before you know it, we scored that first goal."

Turning the game on its head in a hurry, those goals not only came within a span of 1:17, they also came on three consecutive shots. More than two decades later, those three goals remain the fastest three goals in the team's playoff history. They also rank 13th in NHL playoff history.

From there, Rich Tocchet scored a pair of power play goals for the Bruins at 15:04 of the first period and 3:16 of the second period, respectively, to cut Florida's lead down to 3-2. But right after that, the Panthers responded quickly with two goals on the man advantage of their own.

After Jason Woolley's one-timer from the blue line went off a defender's skate and into make it 4-2 at 5:08, Ray Sheppard fooled Ranford with a wrist shot from the slot to make it 5-2 at 9:02 with his second goal of the game. Sheppard would go on to be named the contest's first star.

Firmly in control in the third period, Johan Garpenlov increased Florida's lead to 6-2 at 18:34. With 23 seconds left in regulation, Sandy Moger salvaged a goal for the Bruins to make it 6-3. In net, Vanbiesbrouck was simply outstanding for the Panthers, stopping 42 of 45 shots.

"What an exciting time for our team," Jovanovski said. "The 'Year of the Rat.'"

From there, the Panthers went on to make quick work of the Bruins, winning the series in five games. Vanbiesbrouck was the team's backbone in net (he posted a .921 save percentage in the series), while Sheppard led the team in scoring with eight points (four goals, four assists).

Of course, this was only the beginning of Florida's incredible run straight to Stanley Cup Final.

There's plenty more to come on "Panthers Rewinds," so check the broadcast schedule below!

April 23, 7 PM: Game 1 of the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals vs. Pittsburgh.

April 26, 7:30 PM:Game 3 of the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals vs. Pittsburgh.

April 30, 7 PM: Game 6 of the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals vs. Pittsburgh.

May 3, 7:30 PM: Game 7 of the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals vs. Pittsburgh.

BONUS: HAVE FUN WITH HISTORY

-- Have you been a Panthers fan since the beginning?

Test you knowledge with this fun quiz. 

--

Presented by Baptist Health, the Panthers Virtual Vault is full of treasures from the past.