The NHL Panthers' season opener drew 17,535 against the
Canucks Friday during "one of South Florida's biggest sports
weekends of the year," with college football and the
Dolphins playing a divisional game at home, according to
Stephen Holder of the MIAMI HERALD. Holder: "The lack of
anticipation for a season opener of a team that finished 6-
2-1 during preseason was disappointing to some Panthers
players" (MIAMI HERALD, 10/7). Also in Miami, Greg Cote
wrote that National Car Rental Center looked "about one-
quarter empty" during Friday's game. Cote: "For a while,
you got the sense the NHL had wormed fully into South
Florida's sporting consciousness. Now it's as if the team
has reverted to being a cult fascination, adored by
worshippers, but only of mild interest to others" (MIAMI
HERALD, 10/7). Meanwhile, David Neal called the Panthers'
opening-night pregame promos "too elaborate." A 15-minute
film -- featuring "a pair of glowing glasses that, when
donned, allowed a child to see different Panthers as wearing
outfits that resembled Laser Tag" uniforms -- was greeted
with "seemingly confused silence." Meanwhile, national
anthem singer Jill Minor "was to be accompanied by a live
panther, which suddenly had second thoughts about her role
in the show," as the panther "got spooked by the fireworks"
that went off during the anthem. The panther "writhed and
leaped about so frantically, she had to be taken off the ice
as Minor finished the tune" (MIAMI HERALD, 10/7).
DAVIDSON TO BE MORE FOCUSED ON LIGHTNING: In St.
Petersburg, Kevin Kelly wrote that "for the first time,"
Palace Sports & Entertainment Owner William Davidson watched
a regular-season Lightning game when he attended Friday's
opener against the Islanders. Davidson: "Last year, from my
point of view, was a write-off year. This year will not be
a write-off year" (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 10/7)
WHERE THE WILD THINGS SCALP: USA TODAY's Kevin Allen
writes that Wild execs are "anticipating a sellout" for the
"entire season." Wild VP/Communications Bill Robertson said
that "fewer than 1,000 tickets remain for any Wild game" in
18,064-seat Xcel Energy Center. The team sold 15,300 season
tickets and "purposely kept back about" 1,000 tickets to
sell for $10 on a game-by-game basis (USA TODAY, 10/10). In
St. Paul, Leslie Brooks Suzukamo writes that some Wild
ticket holders are using Internet auction sites like eBay
and Yahoo! Auction "to scalp their tickets before" the Wild
play their sold-out home opener on Wednesday. Wild
management "isn't wild about cyberspace sales but is almost
hapless to prevent it" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 10/10).
NOTES: In Columbus, 18,136 attended the Blue Jackets
home opener Saturday against the Blackhawks, and the
DISPATCH's Myers & Mayhood wrote that "even at the end of a
5-3 loss, [fans] stood -- and gave the home team a rousing
ovation." Before the game, "applause was huge" for the Blue
Jackets Principal Owner John McConnell (COLUMBUS DISPATCH,
10/8)....In L.A., Elliott Teaford wrote that for Sunday's
loss to the Blues, the Mighty Ducks' announced attendance of
11,134 was a franchise low "that might have been closer to
8,500" (L.A. TIMES, 10/9).