Bill Lindsay on What Knights Can Learn from Expansion Panthers, Reilly Smith's Struggles

[Sheng Peng]

Original Panther Bill Lindsay talks about the parallels between the two expansion squads, what Vegas can learn from Florida, whether or not the Golden Knights are Cup contenders, and Reilly Smith's struggles last year:

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Shen...hts-Can-Learn-from-1993-94-Panthers/244/90420

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[Nevada Jones]

Just wanted to say that was an excellent interview. Much relevant insight from Lindsay.

Well done and thanks!

 

[Sheng Peng]

Just wanted to say that was an excellent interview. Much relevant insight from Lindsay.

Well done and thanks!

You're welcome! I appreciate the kind words.

 

[Bart9349]

HB: Back to 1993-94, the Panthers beat the Islanders late in March. With nine games left, you were in eighth place, four points ahead of the Flyers, six ahead of the Islanders. But then, you went 1-4-4 to end the season. New York caught you. What happened?

BL: I think pressure, maybe. Starting to realize, wow, what's happening. We're on the cusp of the playoffs.

We're just rolling along, having fun with the games, but all of the sudden, it got ramped up. We got thrown under the microscope. Maybe as a team, we weren't familiar. We felt the pressure a bit, didn't handle it well.

We handled it well two years later, [making it to the Finals]. So this helped us with that experience.

This is a cautionary tale, indeed.

The 1993-94 season was the Panthers' inaugural season. A late season collapse prevented their making the playoffs. They didn't make the playoffs the next year, either. In the 1995-96 season, the Panthers learned to handle the pressure and made it all the way to the Stanley Cup finals (only to lose to the Avs in four straight).

Hopefully, the veteran leadership will continue to guide this team through the expected rough periods. (The next nine games, seven of which are away, could be that rough patch in the season.)