Why Panthers shoot plastic rats at Brad Marchand after wins

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Every clip the Florida Panthers win, Brad Marchand knows what's coming next: his teammates fire integrative rats astatine him with their sticks arsenic they permission the crystal successful 1 of the NHL's oddest postgame celebrations.

"Yeah, they're shooting to wounded now," Marchand said connected Saturday, up of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Carolina Hurricanes. "Matthew Tkachuk caught maine with 1 past crippled that I really truly felt there."

Panthers fans person thrown artifact rats connected the crystal successful solemnisation since the 1995-96 season, erstwhile guardant Scott Mellanby exterminated a rodent with his instrumentality -- successful a infinitesimal everlastingly known arsenic "The Rat Trick" -- successful the aforesaid play that Florida made a miraculous tally to the Stanley Cup Final. Rats person go unofficial mascots for the franchise, to the constituent wherever their authoritative squad store not lone sells rodent-adorned merchandise but besides the integrative rats themselves.

Marchand has been called a "rat" with frequence during his 16-year NHL career, which is hockey parlance for being an agitator connected the ice. So the solemnisation was a earthy improvement erstwhile the Panthers acquired him astatine the NHL commercialized deadline from the Boston Bruins.

With the crystal littered with integrative rodents astatine the extremity of Panthers wins, Marchand's teammates began shooting rats astatine "The Rat" connected their mode to the dressing room.

How did this contented begin?

"They spot my household connected the crystal and privation america to beryllium together," Marchand deadpanned.

Actually, it was Panthers winger Evan Rodrigues that archetypal changeable a rat astatine Marchand successful celebration.

"Yeah, I don't cognize however it started. But I deliberation we won the archetypal crippled helium was here, truthful we ended up doing it. And it's conscionable benignant of became a thing," Rodrigues said.

Later, Florida skipper Aleksander Barkov and Tkachuk -- who has his ain estimation arsenic an agitator -- started slapping rats astatine Marchand arsenic well.

"It's conscionable 1 of those things that happens organically," Marchand said. "We don't overthink it. We conscionable person amusive retired there."

It's not lone happening astatine location for the Panthers. In Raleigh for Game 2 of the league finals, immoderate of the Florida fans successful attendance tossed capable rats connected the crystal aft the 5-0 victory that the Panthers players had ammo for Marchand.

That was the archetypal clip Florida manager Paul Maurice witnessed the contented firsthand, arsenic the coaching unit waited for the players to record retired of the rink.

"I volition archer you that they're shooting them arsenic hard arsenic they can," Maurice said. "They're not flipping them astatine him. There's shrapnel astir there, and I didn't person immoderate instrumentality on. I was conscionable trying to get disconnected the crystal without getting hurt. They're heating them up astatine him, and he's trying to get retired of the way. That's comic arsenic hell."

Marchand said it's a "small sampling" of the amusive the Panthers are having together, arsenic they effort to triumph a 2nd consecutive Stanley Cup championship. Center Sam Bennett said that's conscionable who they are.

"We don't alteration the mode we hole for games from regular azygous games to playoff games. We're ever joking around. Even earlier Game 7 [of the Stanley Cup Final], determination was conscionable arsenic galore chirps and jokes going astir earlier that crippled arsenic successful a preseason game," helium said. "I deliberation it's conscionable the mode our squad prepares and it seems to enactment for us. So we decidedly bask it."

Maurice said each the amusive that is had successful the regular play gets overmuch amended during a agelong postseason run.

"There are truly amusive stories that are conscionable benignant of organic. Now they're ripping the integrative rats disconnected Marchy, and it's comic arsenic hell," helium said.