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Jared Clinton
Mar 10, 2015
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Jclinton@The Hockey News

Live from Florida, it’s Saturday Night! Check out the Florida Panthers ‘Saturday Night Live’ opening, which includes in-arena host Andrea Ocampo getting eaten alive and appearances from Victor E. Rat and Stanley C. Panther.

Watch the Florida Panthers' ridiculous ‘Saturday Night Live’ openingWatch the Florida Panthers' ridiculous ‘Saturday Night Live’ opening

Saturday Night Live is in its 40th year, and what better way to celebrate than by having the Florida Panthers pay tribute with their very own SNL-style opening?

Before Florida took the ice Saturday night against the New York Islanders – a game which the Cats won 4-3 – fans were introduced to Jimmy Hayes, Erik Gudbranson and some of the Panthers’ “feature players.” The introductions are made better thanks to the unmistakable imitation of the late, great Don Pardo, SNL’s longtime announcer. Check out the Panthers’ opening credits:

There are plenty of good moments in the introductions, but it’s tough to beat Claud the Usher. Those moves.

It’s crazy to think that in the Panthers first season, SNL was actually about to begin it’s 19th year on the air. The SNL cast in 1993 included Chris Farley, Phil Hartman, Mike Myers, Kevin Nealon, Adam Sandler, Norm Macdonald and Sarah Silverman. Musical guests included Nirvana, Salt-N-Pepa and Crash Test Dummies.

The Panthers using the SNL theme and style to do their introductions for the Saturday night game was a fun idea. And using Victor E. Rat and Stanley C. Panther – yes, Florida has two mascots – as the hosts makes a ton of sense.

They did make one mistake, though; Lowery “Cat” Bellew should have been the musical guest. And why no Waikiki Hockey? There’s always next time, Panthers.

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