Fantasy Senators

Last night's tilt between the Red Wings and Senators was exactly as good as the FanHouse hype suggested. We got to see the league's two best teams play the game at the highest level of ability and provide us with a nail-biting thriller. Even those of us with no rooting interest in the game could find a lot of entertainment value in the match, which is the surest mark that the game delivered.

Unfortunately for the Sens, they lost Dany Heatley for the next 4-6 weeks with a separated shoulderr. Win the game, lose the battle of attrition, eh? Here's a quote from the 'What the hell' category.

Heatley left after he fell awkwardly into the boards while checking Detroit's Dallas Drake behind the Senators' net. He did not return. On Saturday, the team said he had an upper body injury and didn't say if he would miss any time.

*sigh* Are teams so afraid of releasing information during the middle of the regular season that they'll resort to this level of secrecy? As for Dallas Drake injuring people ... just like the old days :)

** Remember when Avs' winger Jaroslav Hlinka started the season with a bang, and then went completely in the tank? Well, the former Czech Extraleague scoring champ seems to have finally adjusted to the North American game and has put up nine points in his last 14 games and has developed some nice chemistry with Marek Svatos. With the injuries to Ryan Smyth and Joe Sakic, their production is sorely needed.

Although it's one year too late -- and what former NHL player is going to give up a fishing trip for this? -- the Florida Panthers will celebrate their Cinderella run to the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals this weekend. Panthers alumni like John Vanbiesbrouck, Ray Sheppard and Bill Lindsay will join the majority of the players (sans schedule-conflicted Rob Niedermayer and Robert Svehla) who led Florida to the Finals in only the third year of the franchise, before being swept away by the Colorado Avalanche. There's a golf tournament, player appearances and an exhibition game at BankAtlantic Center on Saturday that will give hockey fans something they've long dreamed about: another chance to witness the majestic skating of Terry Carkner on NHL ice.

The Panthers, who will unveil their new uniforms at Saturday's game, have dubbed the celebration "Weekend of the Rat" after the single most significant memory from the team's Stanley Cup run. The Sun Sentinel remembers the fun:

In 1995-96, they finished third in their division (41-31-10, 92 points) and fourth in the Eastern Conference in the regular season, then beat in the Bruins 4 games to 1 in a seven-game series, the Flyers 4-2 and the Penguins 4-3 before losing to the Avalanche in four games in the finals.

Right winger Scott Mellanby killed a rat in the dressing room with his stick minutes before the home opener that season, then scored two goals that night, prompting Vanbiesbrouck to declare Mellanby's feat a "Rat Trick." Throwing plastic rats on the ice after goals soon became a phenomenon.

"We accomplished some pretty lofty things with a group of guys who were considered mediocre players at the time," Lindsay said.

"Mediocre players at the time?" Has history been that kind to Johan Garpenlov and Jody Hull? Florida Panthers fans have every right to celebrate this unexpected season of meteoric success, lest they fall deeper into the depressing reality that their franchise is now known more for losing Roberto Luongo and failing to make the playoffs in the Southeast Division than plastic rodents. But for the rest of us, this weekend begs the question:

Are the Florida Panthers the most mediocre Stanley Cup finalist of the last 25 years?

At least when it comes to a simulation of the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs just completed by IGN.com using NHL 2K7 for the XBox 360:

Upsets ruled the brackets as Dallas (6) and Nashville (4) battled each other for control of the West while Ottawa (4) and Atlanta (3) dominated the East. Mike Modano led all scorers throughout the playoffs with 14 goals, including 6 game-winning goals, while Dany Heatley lit things up for Ottawa, scoring 11 goals, delivering 15 assists, and consistently acting like the best player on the ice throughout the playoffs.

The Stanley Cup Finals featured Ottawa and Dallas battling it out in a classic seven-game series that saw Heatley and Daniel Alfredsson take control of the puck for the Senators and Marty Turco make save after save for the Stars.

Bad news for all you Sabres fans: According to the IGN sim, Buffalo falls in the first round to the Islanders. Then again, if you're from the Island, that's about as good as it's going to get this year.