head coach: Doug MacLean

roster: C - Kirk Muller, Rob Niedermayer, Dave Gagner, Steve Washburn, Chris Wells. LW - Johan Garpenlov, Dave Lowry, Bill Lindsay, Radek Dvorak, David Nemirovsky. RW - Scott Mellanby, Ray Sheppard, Jody Hull, Tom Fitzgerald. D - Robert Svehla, Gord Murphy, Ed Jovanovski, Paul Laus, Terry Carkner, Rhett Warrener, Dallas Eakins. G - John Vanbiesbrouck, Mark Fitzpatrick, Kevin Weekes.

injuries: Rob Niedermayer, c (concussion, indefinite but long term); Dallas Eakins, d (MCL, 1 week); Mark Fitzpatrick, g (knee strain, day-to-day).

transactions: Recalled Kevin Weekes, g, from the Fort Wayne Komets (IHL) for ailing Mark Fitzpatrick.

standings:

Eastern Conference - Atlantic Division   
Team         GP   W   L   T   PTS   GF   GA   
Washington    8   7   1   0    14   30   15  
Philadelphia  9   5   3   1    11   25   22     
New Jersey    7   4   3   0     8   20   16    
NY Islanders  7   3   2   2     8   21   17    
NY Rangers    9   2   3   4     8   22   24  
Florida       7   2   4   1     5   14   22  
Tampa Bay     8   2   5   1     5   14   22  

game results:

10/11 at St. Louis    L 5-3 
10/13 NY Islanders    T 2-2 
10/15 Tampa           W 2-1 
10/16 at Dallas       L 4-0 
10/19 Pittsburgh      L 4-1 

team news:

by Eric Seiden, Florida Correspondent

"It's a hockey night in South Florida, and here come your Panthers," screamed the announcer as the Panthers finally came home after losing to league leading St. Louis. The Panthers began their season on an extended road trip, returning home after 13 days away. Anticipation was high for the team to finally click together and deliver a shellacking to the Islanders, but it didn't happen. The traditional opening ceremony was the first bad omen. It's always looked forward to, but the opening ceremony was pathetic and was an embarrassment to the fine tradition the Panthers are building. It was mostly videotape, which was not easily viewable because smoke from the miserable attempt at indoor fireworks obscured the screen.

The Panthers have been suffering a mysterious malaise preventing them from looking like a real hockey team. While some have suggested the team members' grandmothers have taken to the ice wearing their grandchildren's uniforms, legal action for libel was threatened by the grandmothers and the idea was withdrawn. Of biggest concern was the absence caused by the condition of Robbie Niedermayer. The team released a special bulletin which reads as follows (reprinted in its entirety with permission):

** START (Date 10/10/97) ** The below statement will attempt to clarify the issue regarding the head injury sustained by Rob Niedermayer during the game against Philadelphia on October 1, 1997. It was suggested during an ESPN broadcast of the game last night between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and a subsequent ESPN SportsCenter report that the hit by Flyers center Eric Lindros represented a concussion superimposed upon a previous concussion which Niedermayer suffered in preseason. The following data will help clarify that situation.

On September 18, 1997, in a preseason game with the Washington Capitals in Tallahassee, Florida, Rob Niedermayer was tripped. He fell and may have had some minor head trauma when his helmet hit the ice. He immediately stood up after the hit, knew where he was, and was able to continue playing the entire game. The incident was not reported to the medical staff and he had no functional problems for the next several games.

On 10-1, during the third period of the game against Philadelphia, Rob Niedermayer received blunt head trauma during a hit by Eric Lindros, and subsequently received a Grade2/Grade3 concussion based on the guidelines utilized by the NHL Physician Society. His major symptoms included prolonged post-concussion amnesia, which he still continues to exhibit, as well as a post-concussion syndrome represented by recurrent lightheadedness and headaches. The major purpose of not allowing a player to play post a significant concussion is to avoid what is known as a second impact syndrome which is a repetitive concussion on an existing concussion, resulting in serious brain injury. There was no evidence to suggest that Rob Niedermayer suffered any significant brain injury in his game against Washington. Therefore, we must conclude that Rob Niedermayer's concussion was direct result of the injury he received during the third period of the Flyer's game on 10-1 and this fact should not be minimized. ** END **

I'd like to point out again how unusual this particular release is. Teams issue media releases all the time. Teams even, often, issue a media release from doctors stating a player's condition. This is the first media release (in the over four years I've been receiving media releases from four leagues) I've ever seen from any team in any league where the doctors don't focus on discussing current conditions and expected return date (or lack of), but rather directly address the cause of a condition.

I'd also like to highlight a very key phrase, "There was no evidence to suggest that Rob Niedermayer suffered any SIGNIFICANT brain damage..." You have to wonder about this entire release based on this. Any medical professional will tell you any brain damage is extremely significant.

Further thought by the fan will show the fact that the Panthers are still discussing this publicly, despite the league's specific gag order, should indicate that Rob's condition is much worse than the team is telling us. If Rob were going to come back soon, the Panthers likely would not continue to risk a fine and whine like stuck pigs. It's the general feeling something serious is going on here. Only time will tell, but chalk this up as a significant moment in Panthers history.

This is a clearly a very serious concussion, and if Rob does come back any repeat concussion will likely end his hockey career prematurely. Clearly Rob has suffered significant brain damage (I will save the obvious joke here) because he's having balance and memory difficulties, but the headaches are the serious sign. Severe persistent headaches are a sign of a very serious and probably permanent condition. Personally, I really hope Rob sees a private physician that is not associated with the team. Someone needs to look out for him and make sure he's OK. A skating vegetable is a bad idea. Some days later Rob is still unable to recall events from the game through the end of that day. His skating has been severely limited by dizziness and severe headaches. This condition was still being reported in local media as late as 10/19, and even team doctors are not allowing him to skate a full workout while these conditions persist.

Against Tampa, the Panthers looked a little better but clearly they were not their old selves. Kirk Muller continued his streak of ambivalence on ice as if it were his destiny and not a curable state. Chris Wells continues to bust his ass for the team, slowly winning over his critics not with goals or impressive play but with a clear effort. Nobody would blame Wells' effort on the Panthers' problems. He's been spectacular. In both the Tampa and soon to come Penguins game new captain Scott Mellanby was clutched and grabbed to death by his opponents with nary a notice by the ever-blind officials.

In Dallas, the Panthers were pounded on like an enemy bunker and played as if they had never met. John Vanbiesbrouck was finally pulled and replaced with Kevin Weekes, only the fourth goaltender to ever play in a Panthers uniform during the regular season. (For trivia fans, Eldon "Pokey" Reddick is the other.)

Not until the Panthers played the Penguins did Dave Lowry take the ice; he'd been warming the bench in favor of Steve Washburn. As the Penguins came to town bringing former Panthers Stu Barnes and Martin Straka, Coach MacLean decided to give Lowry a chance. Clearly he did pretty well, though the team's inability to complete a pass all game caused the loss. The game itself was moved up from 6PM to 1PM to accommodate fans who also wanted to see the home-town MLB Florida aMarlins play Game Two of the World Series. Obviously the players were up the night before watching Game One, since they were asleep through the entire 4-1 loss.

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