Panthers wear patches to support Douglas victims
The Panthers paid tribute to victims of the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas that killed 17 people by wearing helmet decals and jersey patches during their game Saturday night at Calgary.
A patch on the right elbow of Panthers’ jerseys read “MSD” in black lettering and the helmet decal was Stoneman Douglas’ logo that included an eagle.
The Panthers’ action comes one night after former Stoneman Douglas student and current Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere wore a “MSD Strong” decal during Philadelphia’s game on Friday night. The Miami Hurricanes basketball team also paid tribute by wearing warmup shirts that said “Praying for Stoneman Douglas” on the front and “#MSDStrong” on the back.
Saturday’s game was Florida’s SunSentinel.com/ panthers
second one since the shooting; it also took the ice hours after the tragedy on Wednesday in Vancouver. The Canucks held a moment of silence before the game and Panthers players and coaches talked about winning for the hurting South Florida community.
“We understand that the suffering and devastation, we talked about it as a team before the game and trying to represent some pride for our community back home,” Panthers coach Bob Boughner said after the game. “I know the guys had some heavy hearts playing out there.”
The Panthers also partnered with One Blood and JetBlue and will hold a blood drive on Thursday at the BB&T Center. The event will go from noon to 7 p.m. Fans attending Florida’s game against the Washington Capitals will be able to donate inside the arena from 6 p.m. through the end of the second intermission.
Several Panthers players, including captain Derek MacKenzie, live in Parkland. Their practice facility in Coral Springs is minutes away from Stoneman Douglas and the BB&T Center in Sunrise is about 15 miles away.
“We are committed to providing aid and support to our community as it grieves in response to this senseless tragedy,” Panthers president Matt Caldwell said in a statement on Wednesday.
Earlier this season, the Panthers wore helmet decals to show support for Florida after Hurricane Irma.
mdefranks@ sun-sentinel.com; On Twitter @MDeFranks. Commissioner Gary Bettman said the league condemns the behavior of four male fans chanting a racial taunt against a black player, and backs the Blackhawks for ejecting the offenders. Bettman says no one “should ever have to endure such abuse at one of our games.”
The league released Bettman’s statement Sunday, a day after Capitals F Devante Smith-Pelly was taunted by fans while he served a major penalty for fighting. The fans were shouting “basketball, basketball, basketball,” during the Hawks’ 7-1 win. An off-ice official sitting next to Smith-Pelly notified building security, and the fans were ejected.
The Hawks apologized to Smith-Pelly and the Capitals after the game.
The league’s department of player safety suspended Devils F Miles Wood for two games for a blindside hit on Lightning F Vladislav Namestnikov in the Devils’ 4-3 win Saturday night . ... Connor McDavid had his third hat trick of the season, and the Oilers beat the Avalanche 4-2 in Denver to snap a six-game losing streak. News services