PANTHERS' LEVINS, SENATORS PROVE TO BE NO PUSHOVERS
DAVE JOSEPH Staff WriterSUN-SENTINEL
There were two misconceptions cleared up Thursday when the Panthers defeated the Ottawa Senators 5-4 at the Miami Arena.
The first was that the Senators were a lowly second-year expansion team that would be hard-pressed to match its 10 wins from last season. The other was that the only thing Panthers center Scott Levins would be remembered for in the first month of the season would be his fight against Penguins defenseman Marty McSorley.
By the time the Senators and Levins had skated off the ice, both had won new respect.
The Senators buried such misconceptions when they skated in on the Panthers' defense in waves with a mixture of speed and youth to nearly ruin the Panthers' first home win. Boasting the young talent of Alexandre Daigle, Alexei Yashin and Robert Burakovsky, the Senators showed that they will be one of the more exciting teams to watch this season.
"They were very impressive," said Panthers goalie John Vanbiesbrouck, who stopped 30 Ottawa shots. "[Defenseman) Keith Brown and I were talking after the game, saying that in a few years, after these guys get some experience, they're going to be tough. They're very fast, and the one thing you can't teach is speed."
Daigle, the No. 1 pick in last year's draft, scored a goal and an assist and Burakovsky added an assist. But it was Yashin, who scored the Senators' second goal, that caught Vanbiesbrouck's attention. The 20-year-old Russian had two shots on the Panthers' net, including a wrist shot that boomed off the boards like a slapshot after he snapped it off from inside the blue line.
"Yashin was a big surprise," Vanbiesbrouck said. "With all the talk about Daigle, he wasn't built up as much. But he was impressive."
While Daigle, Yashin and Panthers rookie Rob Niedermayer were getting most of the attention, Levins was having a big night of his own after taking three stitches under his right eye Tuesday after getting beaten up by McSorley during the Panthers' 2-1 loss to the Penguins.
Levins, whose only NHL experience prior to this season was nine games last year in Winnipeg, scored the Panthers' third and fourth goals Thursday against Ottawa. His third and fourth goals of the season make Levins the Panthers' leading goal scorer, as well as the leading scorer on the team.
"Some nights the puck finds your stick at just the right time," Levins said. "[Thursday) night just happened to be one of those nights."
Levins' first goal came when Ottawa goalie Craig Billington couldn't control a rebound off a shot from Alexander Godynyuk. Levins, parked in front of the net, got the rebound, wheeled around in front of the net and scored between Billington's pads. His second goal came on the power play from in front of the net after Randy Gilhen stopped a Senators clearing pass.
"I didn't even know where the shots would be going," Levins said. "I just banged at the net and hoped for the best."
As for his fight against McSorley? Levins simply smiles and laughs.
"It's not as big a deal as people make it out to be," he said. "It's all part of the game, and that's how you have to go out every night and play the game."
PANTHERS VS. U.S. TEAM
Panthers General Manager Bob Clarke confirmed Friday that the Panthers will play an exhibition against the U.S. Olympic hockey team Nov. 5 in Rochester, N.Y. The game comes two days after the Panthers play at Toronto and two days before they play at Quebec.
"We haven't decided when we'll get there, but we'll probably fly to Quebec right after the game," Clarke said.
Clarke said the Panthers' roster would likely be made up of several players from their Cincinnati affiliate and possibly some junior players.
SMYTH WILL RETURN SOON
Defenseman Greg Smyth, who had arthroscopic surgery on his elbow last week, said he could be ready to play Sunday against the Lightning. "But you never know what will happen, because the team is going really well right now," Smyth said... Defenseman Brian Benning, who injured a shoulder against Pittsburgh, said he could be back in the lineup by Tuesday when the Panthers host the Los Angeles Kings... The Panthers will begin practice this morning at Goldcoast Ice Arena at 10:30 a.m... Advanced tickets remain for next week's games against the Lightning on Sunday, the Kings on Tuesday and Toronto on Thursday... The Lightning game begins at 6:05 p.m.
Rob Niedermayer