Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Duck destroyers
Florida Panthers explode for 8 goals against the Anaheim Ducks.
SUNRISE — The numbers that cling to Owen Tippett’s jersey are distinctive, a 74 that drapes off his shoulders, a 74 that falls off his back. It’s an uncommon number in hockey, worn by fewer than 25 players in the history of the sport, an unusual designation for the 18-year-old Florida Panthers rookie.
During the Panthers’ blowout 8-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night, No. 74 made his formal introduction to the hockey world, scoring the first goal of his NHL career as Florida opened a fivegame homestand.
Radim Vrbata notched the seventh hat trick of his career, boosting a Panthers offense that only scored once in a midweek loss in Montreal two days earlier. It was Vrbata’s first hat trick since Dec. 12, 2015 and marked the first three goals he scored since joining the Panthers over the summer.
Evgenii Dadonov scored twice, and Vincent Trocheck and Aleksander Barkov each added one goal as the Panthers (4-5-0) won their second game in their last six meetings. Goaltender James Reimer made 28 saves in his third start since Roberto Luongo injured his right hand.
As the Panthers ran away from the Ducks (4-4-1) with a balanced attack, a suddenly stingy penalty kill and a potent power play, Tippett tried to wrestle the spotlight from Vrbata.
Tippett’s worn No. 74 for the last few years, when he was simply a younger teenager instead of the youngest player in the NHL. It was available when he was a member of the Toronto Jr. Canadiens, and coach Dan Sullivan doled out No. 74 to Tippett. It was open. Not many players wore it. He could make it his own.
So he donned it with another team in Toronto and then with the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads before being drafted by Florida.
Tippett, drafted with the No. 10 pick this summer and on the bubble during training camp, cracked the opening-night roster, but went four games as a healthy scratch.
When Tippett did make his NHL debut in Philadelphia, Panthers coach Bob Boughner said he was Florida’s best player that night. But he went goalless. In his first three NHL games, Tippett fired 10 shots. None went in.
The 11th came Thursday night. It finally lit the lamp.
Already leading 1-0, the Panthers forced a turnover in the neutral zone to create a two-on-one opportunity for Tippett and Jamie McGinn. Tippett led McGinn up the boards, then peeled off toward the net. McGinn carried the puck below the dot before sliding a pass over to Tippett in front of the crease.
Tippett kissed the puck off the post before it went in. The game had its second goal in the first five minutes. Tippett had his first goal in his fourth NHL game.
Tippett dangles the package of a 6-foot-1 frame, a lethal shot and speed. He’s allowed to play nine games in the NHL before counting this season as part of his entry-level contract. After nine games, the Panthers have a decision to make: keep him in the NHL and burn a year off his contract, or send him back to Mississauga.
The Panthers are currently without two injured forwards (Jared McCann and Colton Sceviour), meaning Tippett’s climb to nine games could be accelerated in the coming days. Connor Brickley also exited during the third period after colliding with Anaheim’s Derek Grant.
For the last two games, Tippett has been an anomaly: a fourth-line winger who is also a contributor on the power play. Playing alongside Micheal Haley and Derek MacKenzie, Tippett helps balance out Florida’s lines, Boughner said before Thursday’s game.
Vrbata made it rain hats when he put one past Ducks backup goalie Reto Berra in the third period. Three different Panthers collected primary assists on Vrbata’s goals.