1996–97 Florida Panthers season

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1996–97 Florida Panthers
Division3rd Atlantic
Conference4th Eastern
1996–97 record35–28–19
Home record21–12–8
Road record14–16–11
Goals for221
Goals against201
Team information
General managerBryan Murray
CoachDoug MacLean
CaptainBrian Skrudland
ArenaMiami Arena
Average attendance14,703
Minor league affiliate(s)Carolina Monarchs
Tallahassee Tiger Sharks
Port Huron Border Cats
Team leaders
GoalsRay Sheppard (29)
AssistsRobert Svehla (32)
PointsRay Sheppard (60)
Penalty minutesPaul Laus (313)
Plus/minusRhett Warrener (+20)
WinsJohn Vanbiesbrouck (27)
Goals against averageJohn Vanbiesbrouck (2.29)

The 1996–97 Florida Panthers season was the Panthers' fourth season.

Offseason[edit]

Regular season[edit]

Final standings[edit]

Atlantic Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 1 New Jersey Devils 82 45 23 14 231 182 104
2 3 Philadelphia Flyers 82 45 24 13 274 217 103
3 4 Florida Panthers 82 35 28 19 221 201 89
4 5 New York Rangers 82 38 34 10 258 231 86
5 9 Washington Capitals 82 33 40 9 214 231 75
6 11 Tampa Bay Lightning 82 32 40 10 217 247 74
7 12 New York Islanders 82 29 41 12 240 250 70
Eastern Conference[1]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 New Jersey Devils ATL 82 45 23 14 231 182 104
2 Buffalo Sabres NE 82 40 30 12 237 208 92
3 Philadelphia Flyers ATL 82 45 24 13 274 217 103
4 Florida Panthers ATL 82 35 28 19 221 201 89
5 New York Rangers ATL 82 38 34 10 258 231 86
6 Pittsburgh Penguins NE 82 38 36 8 285 280 84
7 Ottawa Senators NE 82 31 36 15 226 234 77
8 Montreal Canadiens NE 82 31 36 15 249 276 77
9 Washington Capitals ATL 82 33 40 9 214 231 75
10 Hartford Whalers NE 82 32 39 11 226 256 75
11 Tampa Bay Lightning ATL 82 32 40 10 217 247 74
12 New York Islanders ATL 82 29 41 12 240 250 70
13 Boston Bruins NE 82 26 47 9 234 300 61

Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast

bold – Qualified for playoffs


Playoffs[edit]

Following their remarkable run to the Stanley Cup Finals in the 1996 playoffs, the Panthers qualified for the 1997 Stanley Cup playoffs. As the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, they played the fifth seeded New York Rangers. However, the Panthers were eliminated in five games.

Schedule and results[edit]

Regular season[edit]

1996–97 regular season[2]
October: 8–0–4 (home: 4–0–1; road: 4–0–3)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
1 W October 5, 1996 3–1 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 1–0–0 Recap
2 W October 6, 1996 5–2 @ New York Rangers (1996–97) 2–0–0 Recap
3 T October 8, 1996 1–1 OT New York Rangers (1996–97) 2–0–1 Recap
4 W October 12, 1996 6–0 Hartford Whalers (1996–97) 3–0–1 Recap
5 T October 16, 1996 3–3 OT @ San Jose Sharks (1996–97) 3–0–2 Recap
6 W October 17, 1996 2–1 @ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) 4–0–2 Recap
7 T October 20, 1996 1–1 OT @ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) 4–0–3 Recap
8 W October 23, 1996 5–2 Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 5–0–3 Recap
9 W October 25, 1996 6–4 New York Rangers (1996–97) 6–0–3 Recap
10 W October 27, 1996 3–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 7–0–3 Recap
11 T October 29, 1996 1–1 OT @ New York Rangers (1996–97) 7–0–4 Recap
12 W October 30, 1996 3–2 Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 8–0–4 Recap
November: 7–3–2 (home: 4–2–2; road: 3–1–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
13 L November 2, 1996 2–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 8–1–4 Recap
14 W November 7, 1996 4–2 Washington Capitals (1996–97) 9–1–4 Recap
15 W November 9, 1996 4–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 10–1–4 Recap
16 L November 11, 1996 2–3 OT @ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 10–2–4 Recap
17 W November 13, 1996 5–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 11–2–4 Recap
18 T November 15, 1996 3–3 OT New York Islanders (1996–97) 11–2–5 Recap
19 L November 18, 1996 2–4 Washington Capitals (1996–97) 11–3–5 Recap
20 W November 20, 1996 4–1 Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) 12–3–5 Recap
21 W November 22, 1996 2–1 OT @ Dallas Stars (1996–97) 13–3–5 Recap
22 W November 23, 1996 3–1 @ St. Louis Blues (1996–97) 14–3–5 Recap
23 W November 26, 1996 4–3 Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 15–3–5 Recap
24 T November 29, 1996 1–1 OT Hartford Whalers (1996–97) 15–3–6 Recap
December: 5–6–3 (home: 2–1–1; road: 3–5–2)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
25 W December 1, 1996 4–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 16–3–6 Recap
26 L December 3, 1996 0–2 @ New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 16–4–6 Recap
27 W December 5, 1996 4–2 New York Islanders (1996–97) 17–4–6 Recap
28 T December 8, 1996 1–1 OT Dallas Stars (1996–97) 17–4–7 Recap
29 L December 10, 1996 4–5 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 17–5–7 Recap
30 L December 11, 1996 2–5 @ Hartford Whalers (1996–97) 17–6–7 Recap
31 W December 15, 1996 6–3 Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 18–6–7 Recap
32 L December 19, 1996 2–5 @ Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 18–7–7 Recap
33 W December 20, 1996 3–1 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 19–7–7 Recap
34 L December 22, 1996 3–7 @ New York Rangers (1996–97) 19–8–7 Recap
35 W December 23, 1996 4–3 OT @ New York Islanders (1996–97) 20–8–7 Recap
36 T December 26, 1996 3–3 OT @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 20–8–8 Recap
37 T December 28, 1996 1–1 OT @ Washington Capitals (1996–97) 20–8–9 Recap
38 L December 29, 1996 1–2 Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 20–9–9 Recap
January: 6–5–1 (home: 3–2–0; road: 3–3–1)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
39 L January 1, 1997 0–3 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) 20–10–9 Recap
40 W January 4, 1997 5–0 @ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) 21–10–9 Recap
41 L January 8, 1997 2–3 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) 21–11–9 Recap
42 W January 11, 1997 4–1 @ Calgary Flames (1996–97) 22–11–9 Recap
43 T January 14, 1997 4–4 OT @ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 22–11–10 Recap
44 L January 15, 1997 0–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 22–12–10 Recap
45 L January 20, 1997 2–4 Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) 22–13–10 Recap
46 L January 22, 1997 1–2 OT @ Hartford Whalers (1996–97) 22–14–10 Recap
47 W January 23, 1997 4–1 @ Boston Bruins (1996–97) 23–14–10 Recap
48 W January 25, 1997 3–2 Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 24–14–10 Recap
49 W January 28, 1997 5–1 Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 25–14–10 Recap
50 W January 30, 1997 3–1 Boston Bruins (1996–97) 26–14–10 Recap
February: 3–5–5 (home: 3–3–2; road: 0–2–3)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
51 L February 1, 1997 1–3 Washington Capitals (1996–97) 26–15–10 Recap
52 T February 3, 1997 2–2 OT @ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 26–15–11 Recap
53 T February 6, 1997 1–1 OT @ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 26–15–12 Recap
54 T February 7, 1997 2–2 OT @ New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 26–15–13 Recap
55 W February 9, 1997 4–3 New York Rangers (1996–97) 27–15–13 Recap
56 W February 12, 1997 5–2 Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 28–15–13 Recap
57 L February 15, 1997 0–1 OT @ New York Islanders (1996–97) 28–16–13 Recap
58 L February 16, 1997 2–4 Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 28–17–13 Recap
59 L February 18, 1997 2–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 28–18–13 Recap
60 T February 20, 1997 2–2 OT New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 28–18–14 Recap
61 L February 22, 1997 3–4 OT Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 28–19–14 Recap
62 T February 25, 1997 2–2 OT San Jose Sharks (1996–97) 28–19–15 Recap
63 W February 27, 1997 3–2 OT St. Louis Blues (1996–97) 29–19–15 Recap
March: 4–7–3 (home: 3–4–2; road: 1–3–1)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
64 L March 1, 1997 0–2 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 29–20–15 Recap
65 L March 5, 1997 0–3 Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) 29–21–15 Recap
66 L March 7, 1997 1–3 Calgary Flames (1996–97) 29–22–15 Recap
67 L March 9, 1997 1–3 Boston Bruins (1996–97) 29–23–15 Recap
68 W March 11, 1997 3–2 New York Islanders (1996–97) 30–23–15 Recap
69 W March 13, 1997 5–4 Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 31–23–15 Recap
70 T March 15, 1997 3–3 OT Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) 31–23–16 Recap
71 W March 17, 1997 4–1 @ New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 32–23–16 Recap
72 L March 19, 1997 4–7 @ New York Islanders (1996–97) 32–24–16 Recap
73 T March 20, 1997 2–2 OT @ Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 32–24–17 Recap
74 W March 22, 1997 3–2 Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 33–24–17 Recap
75 L March 27, 1997 2–3 Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 33–25–17 Recap
76 T March 29, 1997 1–1 OT Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 33–25–18 Recap
77 L March 31, 1997 3–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 33–26–18 Recap
April: 2–2–1 (home: 2–0–0; road: 0–2–1)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
78 L April 2, 1997 1–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) 33–27–18 Recap
79 L April 5, 1997 2–4 @ Boston Bruins (1996–97) 33–28–18 Recap
80 T April 6, 1997 3–3 OT @ Washington Capitals (1996–97) 33–28–19 Recap
81 W April 9, 1997 4–2 New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 34–28–19 Recap
82 W April 11, 1997 4–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 35–28–19 Recap
Legend:

  Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs[edit]

1997 Stanley Cup playoffs[2]
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (5) New York Rangers – Rangers win 4–1
Game Result Date Score Opponent Series Recap
1 W April 17, 1997 3–0 New York Rangers Panthers lead 1–0 Recap
2 L April 20, 1997 0–3 New York Rangers Series tied 1–1 Recap
3 L April 22, 1997 3–4 OT @ New York Rangers Rangers lead 2–1 Recap
4 L April 23, 1997 2–3 @ New York Rangers Rangers lead 3–1 Recap
5 L April 25, 1997 2–3 OT New York Rangers Rangers win 4–1 Recap
Legend:

  Win   Loss

Player statistics[edit]

Scoring[edit]

  • Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
  • † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Panthers only.
  • ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Panthers only.
Regular season Playoffs
No. Player Pos GP G A Pts +/- PIM GP G A Pts +/- PIM
26 Ray Sheppard RW 68 29 31 60 4 4 5 2 0 2 −4 0
27 Scott Mellanby RW 82 27 29 56 7 170 5 0 2 2 −1 4
24 Robert Svehla D 82 13 32 45 2 86 5 1 4 5 −4 4
19 Radek Dvorak RW 78 18 21 39 −2 30 3 0 0 0 0 0
44 Rob Niedermayer C 60 14 24 38 4 54 5 2 1 3 −1 6
29 Johan Garpenlov LW 53 11 25 36 10 47 4 2 0 2 0 4
11 Bill Lindsay RW 81 11 23 34 1 120 3 0 1 1 0 8
10 Dave Lowry LW 77 15 14 29 2 51 5 0 0 0 −3 0
4 Per Gustafsson D 58 7 22 29 11 22 — — — — — —
28 Martin Straka C 55 7 22 29 9 12 4 0 0 0 −2 0
21 Tom Fitzgerald RW 71 10 14 24 7 64 5 0 1 1 −1 0
5 Gord Murphy D 80 8 15 23 3 51 5 0 5 5 0 4
55 Ed Jovanovski D 61 7 16 23 −1 172 5 0 0 0 −4 4
20 Brian Skrudland C 51 5 13 18 4 48 — — — — — —
12 Jody Hull RW 67 10 6 16 1 4 5 0 0 0 −1 0
18 Mike Hough LW 69 8 6 14 12 48 5 1 0 1 −2 2
15 David Nemirovsky RW 39 7 7 14 1 32 3 1 0 1 −2 0
2 Terry Carkner D 70 0 14 14 −4 96 5 0 0 0 −3 6
7 Rhett Warrener D 62 4 9 13 20 88 5 0 0 0 0 0
3 Paul Laus D 77 0 12 12 13 313 5 0 1 1 −3 4
14 Stu Barnes‡ C 19 2 8 10 −3 10 — — — — — —
22 Steve Washburn C 18 3 6 9 2 4 — — — — — —
23 Chris Wells† C 47 2 6 8 5 42 3 0 0 0 −1 0
9 Kirk Muller† LW 10 1 2 3 −2 4 5 1 2 3 −3 4
17 Jason Podollan‡ RW 19 1 1 2 −3 4 — — — — — —
34 John Vanbiesbrouck G 57 0 2 2 8 5 0 0 0 0
9 Brad Smyth‡ RW 8 1 0 1 −3 2 — — — — — —
30 Mark Fitzpatrick G 30 0 1 1 13 — — — — — —
16 Craig Ferguson C 3 0 0 0 −1 0 — — — — — —
16 Craig Fisher† C 4 0 0 0 −2 0 — — — — — —
8 Craig Martin RW 1 0 0 0 0 5 — — — — — —
25 Geoff Smith D 3 0 0 0 1 2 — — — — — —
6 Jason Woolley‡ D 3 0 0 0 1 2 — — — — — —

Goaltending[edit]

Regular season Playoffs
No. Player GP W L T SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI GP W L SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI
34 John Vanbiesbrouck 57 27 19 10 1582 128 2.29 .919 2 3347 5 1 4 184 13 2.38 .929 1 328
30 Mark Fitzpatrick 30 8 9 9 771 66 2.36 .914 0 1680 — — — — — — — — —

Awards and records[edit]

Awards[edit]

Type Award/honor Recipient Ref
League
(in-season) 		NHL All-Star Game selection Doug MacLean (coach) [3]
Robert Svehla
John Vanbiesbrouck[a]

Milestones[edit]

Milestone Player Date Ref
25th shutout John Vanbiesbrouck January 4, 1997 [5]

Transactions[edit]

Draft picks[edit]

Florida's draft picks at the 1996 NHL Entry Draft held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri.[6]

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 20 Marcus Nilson  Sweden Djurgardens IF (Sweden)
3 60 Chris Allen  Canada Kingston Frontenacs (OHL)
3 65 Oleg Kvasha  Russia CSKA Moscow (Russia)
4 82 Joey Tetarenko  Canada Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
5 129 Andrew Long  Canada Guelph Storm (OHL)
6 156 Gaetan Poirier  Canada Merrimack College (Hockey East)
7 183 Alexandre Couture  Canada Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL)
8 209 Denis Khlopotnov  Russia CSKA Moscow (Russia)
9 235 Russell Smith  Canada Hull Olympiques (QMJHL)

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Vanbiesbrouck was voted to the starting lineup.[4]

References[edit]

  • "Florida Panthers 1996-97 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  • "1996-97 Florida Panthers Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  1. ^ "1996-1997 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
  2. ^ a b "1996-97 Florida Panthers Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  3. ^ "NHL All-Star Game Historical Summaries - 1997". www.nhl.com. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  4. ^ "NHL All-Star Game Starting Lineups by Year (since 1986)". www.nhl.com. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  5. ^ "PANTHERS POUNCE ON KINGS, PUT END TO WINLESS STREAK". Sun Sentinel. January 5, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2023. goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck notched his 25th career shutout
  6. ^ "1996 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
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