A CLEAN START
Ville Peltonen and Olli Jokinen lost a bet to trainer Jim Pizzutelli by shaving off their mustaches after Sunday's loss in Vancouver -- though it wasn't necessarily their idea.
A month ago, a majority of the Panthers made a bet they would grow mustaches and keep them until the team won 20 games, with the last man standing winning $500. But by the time the Panthers took the ice against the Canucks, only Peltonen, Jokinen and Pizzutelli still had facial hair.
The two players shaved after Jokinen said they endured 60 minutes of taunts from Vancouver players who questioned their masculinity.
''There were a couple of idiots over there. I was pretty mad after the game,'' Jokinen said. ``There's not as much respect as there used to be. It's part of the game, I guess, to try to get me off my game.''
Jokinen said no other team commented on the mustaches, and Martin, who didn't know of the taunts until Thursday, said he was disappointed in the Canucks.
''It bothers me,'' he said. ``That kind of talk shows a lack of class.''
Jokinen might have had the last word Wednesday when, taking the ice clean-shaven, he scored a hat trick to beat the Penguins.