The Florida Panthers played their home opener at Miami Arena on October 8, 1995 against the Calgary Flames. A rat appeared in the Panthers locker room prior to the start of the contest. Panthers right wing Scott Mellanby smacked the rat across the room with his hockey stick and it bounced off one of the walls.
Mellanby ended up scoring two power-play goals in the game. Panthers goalie John Vanbiesbrouck spoke to the media in the locker room following the 4-3 victory and called it a rat trick.
That moment lead to several great circumstances during the 1995-96 season. Fans started throwing plastic rats on the ice whenever the Panthers scored a goal. The club made the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time, won three postseason series. captured the Eastern Conference title and reached the Stanley Cup Finals against the Colorado Avalanche. It would become known at the Year Of The Rat.
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