Cats & Coffee: Meet the New Guys; ProWire Now Available

Good morning and welcome to "Cats & Coffee," a weekly segment, presented by Koffee Kult, in which we serve up an exciting look at what's on deck for your Florida Panthers. Like our friends at Koffee Kult, this forecast serves up only the best -- so sit back, sip and enjoy our latest brew of news, notes and information.
Let's give the new guys a warm welcome, shall we?
Acquired by the Panthers prior to the NHL's trade deadline, newcomers Sam Bennett, Brandon Montour, Nikita Gusev and Lucas Wallmark are all expected to take the ice at BB&T Center this week during the team's crucial four-game homestand against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Carolina Hurricanes.

Helping the Panthers end their six-game road trip on an incredibly high note, all four of those players factored into Saturday's 5-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Montour lit the lamp, Bennett had a pair of assists, Gusev added a helper on the power play and Wallmark won 57.1% of his draws.
"You take that any day of the week or the year," coach Joel Quenneville said when asked about capturing three of four points from the Lightning. "We're happy to go home. It's been a long trip."
With these new additions providing a late-season boost, the Panthers will look to continue their quest for first place in the Central Division with four more critical matchups this week. Sitting at 28-12-5, they currently trail the Hurricanes (29-10-4) by just one point for the coveted top spot.
Given how tight the race is, this week's games will certainly have a playoff-like intensity.
Here's everything you need to know for the week ahead…

THE GAMES

Monday and Tuesday: Columbus Blue Jackets, 7 p.m. ET
The Panthers will open up their homestand with back-to-back games against the Blue Jackets (15-22-9) at BB&T Center on Monday and Tuesday. Quickly falling out of the playoff race in the Central Division, Columbus has dropped 12 of its last 14 games. During their current five-game losing skid, they've been outscored 23-12, including a 5-1 loss at Dallas on Saturday. Struggling to find success at both ends of the ice, the Blue Jackets rank 28th in the league on offense (2.43 goals per game) and 26th in defense (3.28 goals allowed per game). Up front, Oliver Bjorkstrand leads the team in scoring with 33 points (14 goals, 19 assists), while Cam Atkinson and Jack Roslovic are tied for second with 29 points apiece. In six games against the Panthers this season, Bjorkstrand has posted six points, including lighting the lamp four times. Speaking of Florida, look for Aleksander Barkov to continue piling up the points in these two games. Tied for the team-scoring lead with 45 points, he's racked up 10 goals and eight assists in his last 14 games. And of his team-leading 18 goals this season, three have come against Columbus. In six games against the Blue Jackets this season, the Panthers have come out on top five times.
TV: Bally Sports Florida (Mon), Bally Sports Sun (Tues)
Radio:560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 640 WMEN on Monday, 850 WTFL on Tuesday (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 107.9 FM/1370 AM (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM Ch. 219 / Streaming Ch. 932
Tickets:
FloridaPanthers.com/Tickets
Thursday and Saturday: Carolina Hurricanes, 7 p.m. ET
In two of their biggest games of the season, the Panthers will look to make their move in the standings when they host the Hurricanes (29-10-4) on Thursday and Saturday at BB&T Center. Entering this week in first place in the Central Division, Carolina has won five of its last seven games, including capping off a two-game sweep of the Predators with a 3-1 win on Saturday. One of the top clubs on special teams, the Hurricanes rank first in the league on the power play (27.9%) and tied for fifth on the penalty kill (84.1%). Fueled by a balanced attack, Carolina has six different skaters with at least 30 points, including Sebastian Aho (40), Vincent Trocheck (37) and Dougie Hamilton (35). Helping the Hurricanes take five of six games from the Panthers so far this season, Trocheck has scored in each meeting with his former team. As for the Cats, look for Anthony Duclair to generate some offense in these games. Putting up 19 points in 32 games this season, he's currently riding a solid five-game point streak in which he's scored three goals.
TV:Bally Sports Sun and ESPN+ (Thurs), Bally Sports Florida (Saturday)
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 850 WFTL (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 107.9 FM/1370 AM (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM Ch. 223 on Thursday, 220 on Saturday / Streaming Ch. 932
Tickets:
FloridaPanthers.com/Tickets

MILESTONE WATCH

Anthony Duclair is four assists away from his 100th NHL assist.
Keith Yandle is five points away from his 600th NHL point.

PROWIRE NOW AVAILABLE

A new experience at BB&T Center is now available in the palm of your hand.
Adding a new element to the in-game fan experience, the Panthers are the first team in the NHL to debut ProWire's NHL mobile app integration, which features new audio broadcast technology.
"As we continue to invest in the fan experience, we're thrilled to offer fans this exciting new way to engage with the game. Now fans can listen in real-time as the action unfolds in front of them," Panthers Chief Strategy Officer Sam Doerr said in a release. "Through the seamless integration of ProWire's high-quality, real-time streaming technology, fans can easily tune into Bally Sports Florida Play-by-Play announcers Steve Goldstein and Randy Moller's live action commentary from their seats with just the click of a button."
By using ProWire's patent-pending CrowdFlex™ streaming technology, fans can now stream real-time audio directly to their phones with no delay. And while this is obviously a great way to listen to the broadcast, the possibilities for future engaging applications are seemingly endless.
"We look forward to working with ProWire to develop additional Panthers' exclusive channels featuring special guest commentary, live interviews and more original content for our fans at BB&T," Doerr said.
To stream Bally Sports Florida's broadcast next time you are at the rink, make sure to download the NHL app and then select the Panthers as your favorite team. From there, simply connect to "BBT-Free" Wifi using an iOS device and click on the app's "Listen Live From Your Seat" button.

WEAR A MASK NIGHT

In an effort to honor local frontline healthcare workers while also promoting the importance of continuing to wear a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Panthers and Baptist Health will host "Wear A Mask" night during Monday's matchup against the Blue Jackets at BB&T Center.
With the arena still operating a limited capacity, all fans in attendance will receive a Panthers-Baptist Health co-branded face mask as part of the organization's health and safety guidelines.
"Baptist Health protects the South Florida community each and every day, and we are so thankful for their support," Panthers Chief Commercial Officer Shawn Thornton said in a release. "We're honored to play a role in continuing to bring the important 'Wear a Mask' to the forefront. From their support and integration into the Red Reminders program, to distributing masks to season ticket members and the community, Baptist Health has been an incredible partner of the Panthers."
In addition to taking time to highlight individual healthcare heroes during the game, the backup goaltender for the night will also be sporting a one-of-a-kind mask during pre-game warmups. After the game, this mask will be auctioned off to raise funds for the Baptist Health Foundation.

SHOW YOUR SKILLS

The NHL asked, and fans from all around the world answered.
Presented by GEICO, the recently-wrapped "Fans Skills at Home" challenge asked fans to create short videos of themselves showing off their unique hockey skills - shootout moves, trick shots, etc. - and then submit them by sharing the clips on Instagram or TikTok using #NHLFanSkills.
The only current NHL player asked to be a judge? None other than Keith Yandle!
Check out the clip below to watch the Panthers defenseman and other celebrities announce the winners.

For more information, please visit
https://www.nhl.com/FanSkills
.

SUPPORTING A GOOD CAUSE

There's plenty of ways you can support the Florida Panthers Foundation.
By visiting
FloridaPanthers.com/Foundation
, fans can both purchase tickets for the next 50/50 Raffle or bid on unique autographed items such as jerseys, mystery pucks and so much more. The current hot item? Retro mystery signed pucks!

PROSPECT SPOTLIGHT

Henrik Rybinski has been operating at a high level during his third campaign in the WHL.
Scooped up by the Panthers in the fifth round (136th overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft, the 19-year-old forward currently leads the Seattle Thunderbirds in scoring, producing at better than a point-per-game pace with 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) through his first 14 games of the season.

Entering this week riding a nice five-game point streak, Rybinski has been incredibly consistent on the offensive side of the puck in the early goings of this season. Overall, he's made a dent on the scoresheet in 10 of his last 11 contests, accumulating four goals and 11 assists in that span. On April 4, Rybinski had arguably his best game of the season when he posted three assists - including the primary helper on the game-winning goal - during a 5-4 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. Earning third-star honors in the win, he also went 16-for-28 (57.1%) in the faceoff circle.

CATS CLIP OF THE WEEK

The Panthers learned a new way to communicate for American Sign Language Day.
Check out the clip below to discover a unique new cheer for the Cats!

CATS IN THE COMMUNITY

TERRITORY TALK

On the latest episode of the Territory Talk podcast, co-hosts Doug Plagens and Jameson Olive break down all of the moves the Panthers made prior to last week's NHL Trade Deadline. Plus, Baptist Health's Dr. Gautam Yagnik stops by the show to talk about "Wear a Mask" night and more!

COLD COFFEE (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

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Miss out on anything from Saturday's win over the Lightning? We've got you covered.
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The Panthers made some roster moves over the weekend.
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Penning a postcard to fans, Brandon Montour shares his excitement about joining the Cats.
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There's something big coming to Fort Lauderdale in the summer of 2022.
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The Panthers got a lot deeper prior to the NHL's annual trade deadline.
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Panthers radio play-by-play broadcaster Doug Plagens is answering all of your questions.
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The Panthers Podcast Network has arrived! Learn how to listen and subscribe now.
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Check out these unique game-used items at Inside the Boards.
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Mobile ordering is now available at BB&T Center. 
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Make sure to sign up for the new "93 Society" newsletter.
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There's plenty of amazing game-used items available right now at FLATeamShop.com.