As the 2010 Florida Panthers organization sets out to celebrate/acknowledge/pay respects to the 1996 Eastern Conference Champions this evening, the Cats will have to do so without their only active tie-in to those few days of glory: winger Radek Dvorak has been placed on injured reserve due to a shoulder issue. Rochester’s Evgeny Dadonov (no, not this guy) will cover the open spot on right wing.
Dvorak’s absence leaves only Colorado defenseman – and Columbus fan favorite – Adam Foote as the lone member of either club’s roster to have played in the ’96 Stanley Cup Final. In fact, there’s far more history represented behind the benches: Avs’ coaches Sylvain Lefebvre, Adam Deadmarsh, and Florida’s Gord Murphy all appeared in the four-game series.
Granted, there will be no official “reunion game” (if that idea sounds eerily familiar, well, it is), but this is yet another gesture attempting to remind on-the-fencers that icing a winner in South Florida is not an impossibility.
There appears to be no local television coverage in either market. Live Game Chat at 7pm.