head coach: Bryan Murray

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

injuries: Radek Dvorak, rw (broken wrist, 2 weeks); Esa Tikkanen, lw (broken leg (fibula), 5 to 6 weeks); Rob Niedermayer, c (dislocated thumb, 4 to 6 weeks); Viktor Kozlov, lw (separated shoulder, 4 to 6 weeks).

transactions: Terminated coach Doug MacLean. Returned Kevin Weekes, g, to Fort Wayne Komets (IHL). Recalled and returned Peter Worrell, lw, from Beast of New Haven AHL. Recalled Ryan Johnson, wing, from the Beast of New Haven.

standings:

Eastern Conference - Atlantic Division   
Team         GP   W   L   T   PTS   GF   GA   
New Jersey   25  17   8   0    34   73   46   
Philadelphia 27  15   8   4    34   79   62
Washington   27  13  10   4    30   80   71
NY Islanders 26  11  11   4    26   70   70
NY Rangers   28   8  11   9    25   71   76
Florida      26   7  14   5    19   61   77
Tampa Bay    25   4  17   4    12   50   86

game results:

11/18 NY Rangers    L  3-1 
11/20 Calgary       L  2-1 
11/22 at New Jersey W  2-1 OT
11/24 Washington    L  5-2 
11/26 Boston        W 10-5 
11/28 Colorado      L  3-2 
11/30 at NY Rangers T  1-1 
12/01 Phoenix       L  3-2 

team news:

by Eric Seiden, Florida Correspondent

"It's a hockey night in South Florida, and here come your Panthers," screamed the announcer to the empty stands. In true Miami fashion, fans stay away from a losing teams in droves.

There was not much to cheer up fans as the week began except for perhaps Eddie Jovanovski's return from the dead where he has spent much of the last two seasons. In a stunning afternoon overtime victory, Jovanovski scored both goals in the 2-1 win. The first was a short-handed goal assisted by none other than Chris Wells, who is quickly turning from fan punching bag to fan favorite. Not only did Jovanovski ruin the return of Bill Guerin to the New Jersey lineup, he ended their eight-game winning streak, and added to the only streak the Panthers had at that point: an unbeaten road streak of five games unbeaten, and four games winning on the road. In the same game, new Panther Ray Whitney, wearing number 14, ended his seven-game point streak one shy of the team record held by Stu Barnes, the last Panther to wear 14.

The two-week period started on a down note, though, with a rather boring 3-1 loss to the visiting Rangers. The score belies the Panthers' efforts. The Ranger game, while boring, showed that the Panthers could play well. Unfortunately, the Cats still couldn't get the puck in the net. While the shot count was high, they had three chances at an empty net and couldn't convert any of them, one shot hitting the post and the crossbar before bouncing away.

The Panthers sit near the bottom. So when Calgary came to town it was hoped that a win would finally be tallied at home. This was not to be the case, as Calgary came and played and the Panthers came out in the first period, the entered the locker room never to return again. This game marked the gradual emergence of Eddie Jovanovski back from his horrendous play for the past season and a quarter.

The Capitals came to town next and it was a mess. Washington buried the Caps 5-2, but that wasn't the only bad news. Yet another Capital came under investigation for a racial slur, this time against the Panthers Peter Worrell. Craig Berube was accused of calling Worrell a "monkey." When Berube first tried to apologize after the game he was rebuffed. A subsequent apology smoothed things over and Worrell was satisfied. Not so with the NHL's Brian Burke, who still investigated the matter in light of a two-week old suspension against another Capitals player, Chris Simon. This time Burke handed down a one-game suspension to Berube.

This game against the Caps, in which the Panthers thoroughly embarrassed themselves, came on the day tickets went on sale to the public for the new stadium set to open next season. Nobody at the game noticed the funeral bells tolling in the background.

Monday morning, Bryan Murray privately told Doug MacLean he was fired. On Wednesday it was announced to the media. Many people were surprised. This reporter was not. When Murray was hired, I wrote a long missive on the Panthers Mailing list because Murray had originally tried to be GM and coach. He was told "no" because it was not felt he could do both jobs at the same time properly. Before our new coach was named, I stated that "within three years you will see Bryan Murray behind the bench." And so it has come to pass after just over two years. Don't get me wrong, I liked MacLean despite his problems, but nobody could last in a position that Murray wanted for himself. If it weren't for MacLean's stupendous run for the Cup in his first season, Murray would have been at the helm sooner. While a local favorite for the job is the unemployed Terry Crisp, the hockey smart fans are hoping for Ted Nolan, who happens to be a better fit. None of the choices seem likely if Murray is successful in his job as "interim" coach.

On the news of the day of the announcement, they showed a clip of the players dumping ice water on Coach MacLean at the post-Cup Panther rally in 1996, and then another clip from earlier in the day: Coach MacLean said, "After we went to the Stanley Cup Finals, a good friend of mine shook my hand and then told me, 'That's the worst thing you could have ever done. Now they will never let you be anything but a winner.' That's what I am remembering today." Welcome to Miami, coach MacLean. Most of us will miss you.

Most fans figured it would be another few weeks at least before Doug was gone. Coaching an NHL team has ZERO job security. And if, as MacLean, you come unravelled at pressure, and you are continually fined and suspended for arguing with the officials that call your game, problems will arise.

Doug was a good coach the first year, but he had a lot to work with and the Stanley Cup run was not entirely his doing because the team was in place before he took the job. He had a team with tight cohesion and morale and that old "heart and soul" so clearly missing now. The thing that was built began to tear apart as Stu Barnes, Brian Skrudland, and others left. Skrudland was the worst loss. No, he wasn't a scorer but he was the glue that held the team together. Mellanby is a swell guy, but he's not a leader and he's proven that so far. A smart coach will replace Mellanby with a motivator: and specifically one who motivates on the ice where the Panthers need it. Mellanby is a fan favorite, and even a player favorite, but even the team will tell you he's not out there making things happen like Skrudland did.

There's another interesting theory floating about. If you were a professional sports team and you hated your coach and he suddenly wasn't your coach, wouldn't you play lots better? Yes, you would. Psychologically, happy people play better than unhappy people. While the coach you didn't like was present, you'd subconsciously play bad to make your coach look bad (clearly not on purpose, these are professionals). Is there evidence to support this thesis?

After the firing, the Miami Herald reported only ONE player called Dougie after he was fired. When Roger Neilson was fired, most of the team called him to express their feelings. Think this one over. However, subsequent games proved this theory doesn't hold water.

So why might MacLean not be liked? MacLean's coaching ability consists of screaming: he doesn't teach well. That was his downfall. As things got worse he yelled more. His run-in with the official resulting in his suspension showed that. A game is generally not won or lost on an official's screw up.

As MacLean's frustrations built he screamed at the players but didn't correct the problems. On paper this is the best team the Panthers have ever had. Frankly, what's on paper doesn't mean a whole lot. The Panthers that went to the cup weren't that good on paper, but they believed in the dream and they lived it. Some of it was MacLean's coaching. Most of it was magic. And that magic is gone.

When Bryan Murray took to the ice against the Bruins in his first game as coach of the Panthers, there were some changes. The blimp flew around the arena in a counter clockwise direction for the first time (a small blimp circles the arena before the game and during intermissions). A tradition was broken as the announcer did not announce the name of the coach after he read the lineup. And it's probably a good thing. Even without the announcement, Murray took the biggest "boo" heard in the arena in a very long time. The fans' tradition, "HEY REF YOU SUCK" chant was replaced with "HEY MURRAY YOU SUCK." Though as the game progressed it died out. Many fans forgot their bitterness as the Panthers had the biggest romp in club history, pounding the Bruins 10-5. Many fans did not seem to realize that with Murray being coach less than 48 hours, what happened on the ice really wasn't as a result of his skill or lack thereof. One game does not a hockey team make.

The game itself was a spectacle to behold. Only the most novice fan would mistake it for great hockey. There was no defense for either team and goaltending was abysmal. After all, what can you say when three goalies allow a total of fifteen goals? Byron Dafoe allowed six goals on twelve shots in his two-period outing, a miserable showing. Jim Carey, who replaced Dafoe, didn't do much better. Even John Vanbiesbrouck got no support from the defense, as he let in five goals, one of his worst showings in recent memory. The game did mark the team's first win after the opposing team had scored five or more goals -- their previous best had only been ties. Team records for scoring, points, and assists were shattered. Voices were lost. And poor Doug MacLean's memory was tarnished just a bit -- unreservedly so.

People are already muttering that the magic might be back. They are dreamers. All teams, even the bottom dwellers (which the Panthers call home right now) have games where they can't be stopped. This is a change that will be measured in time.

A sad note to the game. Poor Ray Bourque, one of the classiest players of all time, continues his run of really rotten luck in Miami Arena. Two years ago, he was beaten like a rented mule by Billy Lindsay in what may have been the most painful goal he's ever allowed and is referred to locally as "The Goal." In this debacle of a game, in an attempt to intercept a pass after his goalie had already committed, he neatly sunk the puck into his own net.

Against Colorado, the start went to Mark Fitzpatrick after Vanbiesbrouck allowed 10 goals in two games. The Panthers failed to shine, and the Panthers of earlier this season returned to the ice for two periods, before a real hockey team emerged to turn a 3-0 shutout in to a 3-2 contest that trickled down to the last seconds.

Versus the Rangers, neither the Panthers nor the Blueshirts put out an effort of any significant note. Fans in both cities were surprised by the claims by sportswriters in the Miami Herald and New York Times that both teams were "satisfied with their on-ice performance." Fans either suspect aliens have abducted the people writing these columns or that a temporal disturbance was in effect and they in fact watched an entirely different game than the bore-fest.

Kirk Muller was suspended two-games for a high-stick in the game. Muller high-sticked the Rangers' Niklas Sundstrom in the first period of the game and was assessed a minor penalty. Sundstrom later said it was "no big deal and just part of the game."

The week ended against Phoenix in which the Panthers once again played classic Panthers hockey, skating a solid 40 minutes of hockey and 20 minutes of pond scrum. New coach Murray continues to get the same performance from the team as his predecessor Doug MacLean proving the firing was not justified.

In the rumor mill, the Panthers admitted they had talked to Detroit about holdout Sergei Fedorov. They had talked to Fedorov's agent before. Neither side came even close to an agreement according to wire reports and Murray said that if Detroit wants to talk trade again they would have to contact him. Fedorov has lost the support of his teammates. Red Wings GM Holland said that if he had the choice between trading Fedorov and having the center holding out an entire season, he would choose the latter. One week after this report hit the media, Fedorov bought a condominium on Miami Beach for himself and his female companion.

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