There is nothing scarier in the Stanley Cup Playoffs than a team that has no pressure on it apart from the pressure it puts on itself. Here in Philadelphia, there was a lot of talk about whether the club would be best served to drop from the fifth spot to sixth and play the Southeast Division winner. Many in New Jersey seem quite content with the likely matchup against the Florida Panthers in round one.

My response: Learn from history and be careful what you wish for.

This current Panthers team reminds me a lot of the one that went to the Stanley Cup Final some 12 years ago. They don't have much frontline offensive talent compared to the other contenders in the East, but they are pesky and become dangerous when they can hang around in close game.

If you recall that team from '96, the Panthers surprised some teams down the stretch to finish with 92 points. The Bruins took the Cats too lightly in the first round of the playoffs and went out in five games. The Flyers then underestimated the Panthers right up to the point it was deadlocked 2-2, and the Panthers were the better team in winning Game 5 in double overtime and game six in regulation. Then a Penguins team packed full of firepower got contained just enough for Florida to pull off a seven-game upset.

There is actually a lot more parity in the NHL now than there was then. I don't know if the Panthers can get the caliber of goaltending that John Vanbiesbrouck gave them in 1996, and that's the biggest strike against the team as the playoffs approach.

But I do know this: Any playoff opponent that understimates Florida in the playoffs this year could be setting themselves up for a big fall. Kevin Dineen's club is heading toward the postseason the right way. They have grabbed points in nine of the last 10 games (6-1-3) and they have gotten some healthy bodies back in the lineup while once again putting distance between themselves and the Capitals.

The Panthers will enter the playoffs a loose team that is basically playing with house money whatever it does in the postseason. And that makes for a doubly tough opponent, the way I see it.

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