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Published Sunday, May 12, 1996, in the Miami Herald.

Florida confidence high as series returns to Philly

By DAVID J. NEAL
Herald Sports Writer



The Panthers and Flyers have boiled the Eastern Conference semifinal down to ``Russian Roulette.''

That's what some hockey folks used to call the high-intensity first-round playoff series back when it was best two out of three. Little time for adjustments and the next mistake could be your last until September.

Such is the case now, with everything -- games, goals scored -- even going into Game 5 this afternoon in The Spectrum. And that's cool and the gang as far as the Panthers are concerned.

``I'm not inside their
heads, but I know we feel pretty good right now,'' Panthers goalie John Vanbiesbrouck said.

They should. A series that seemed tilting toward Philadelphia after Game 3 now shows signs of sneaking into the Panthers' side window, considering this smattering of factoids:

  • Two of three remaining games are in an arena the Panthers enjoy, going 3-1-3 since April 1994. Another detail under the subhead ``Panthers in Spectrum'' is there has been only one lead change in nine Panthers playoff games and the Panthers have scored first at The Spectrum a surprising seven consecutive games.

    It's no wonder Panthers Coach Doug MacLean sounded almost confident when someone mentioned how Philadelphia would come out living up to its nickname today.

    ``They'll come out hard, but they have to be careful,'' MacLean said. ``You can come out like gangbusters and make mistakes.''

  • The Panthers have the conference's best home record in the playoffs (4-1).

  • A tight-checking, heavy-hitting series like this beckons overtime. Not only do the Panthers know they can beat the Flyers in a playoff overtime, but the Flyers are 0-3 in overtime this postseason.

  • The Panthers know they can beat the Flyers no matter how well the Flyers play, important information for an underdog team. And it's far from tainted by the Flyers' talk of having more shots on goal, more scoring chances and greater territorial control.

    Vanbiesbrouck said after Game 4 it was uplifting ``knowing their coach said they played a great game and we beat them . . .''

    It was similar to what Vanbiesbrouck said after Game 2: ``They feel they played as well as they could and we were still right there.''

    There's a confidence around the Panthers now that even extends to the head coach, trepidation trailer Doug MacLean. Going into a must-win Game 4, MacLean felt the Panthers' chances of victory were so good he could afford to rest the bruised shoulder of the team's leading playoff scorer, Ray Sheppard.

    The Panthers know if you subtract one deflection off defenseman Rhett Warrener's knee in Game 2 and a double high-sticking minor on Brian Skrudland in Game 3, they could've won already via sweep.

    Conversely, the Flyers know they're a bad defense change in Game 1 and a Dale Hawerchuk poke-in during overtime of Game 4 from being in the conference finals themselves by four-game KO. Of what solace is that, however, to a team surrounded by the belief that it's a Stanley Cup unit?

    ``I definitely think the pressure is on them,'' Panthers right wing Jody Hull said before Game 4. ``As soon as a playoffs started, a lot of people picked them to win it all. There's pressure on us -- we all want to keep playing into June.''

    MacLean said, ``One thing we've stressed is this isn't a time for anxiety and pressure. It's a time for fun. But they're a pretty focused, determined group. I don't have to say too much to them.''



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