"We've definitely practiced hard and they've been competitive - a lot of conditioning and skating, and there's no excuse for us tonight.
"There's no better way to get back in the win column than against a great team."
Coleman, who will line up in a top-six role with Mikael Backlund at centre and Andrew Mangiapane on his opposite flank tonight, is plenty familiar with the Cats.
He played the past two years with Florida's Atlantic Division rival in Tampa, and was involved in all 14 of the clubs' head-to-head battles last season, including six in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Despite eliminating them in a hard-fought, six-game series, the Panthers were only just arriving.
This year, they've emerged as a legitimate contender - possibly, even a favourite - as they lead the Eastern Conference with 57 points, thanks to a gaudy 4.13 goals per game average.
The Flames, meanwhile, have not been at their best lately, and enter tonight's tilt looking to snap a four-game skid.
Sometimes, a bout with adversity can reveal a team's true character.
And that, Coleman says, is never in question with this group of guys.
"We had a pretty good season and we didn't have a ton of patches like this," Coleman said. "But this is the NHL and teams are really good in this league, and there's so much parity that teams are going to go through stretches where it's tough, and the good teams with good leadership and understanding are the teams that talk about it as a group and don't let it slide too far."
Sometimes, too, the results can mask an otherwise good effort.
That's not to suggest the Flames can be satisfied with how the past four have played out, but context is needed.
In three of the four games, they've out-chanced their opponent - both in general, and from the high-danger areas of the ice. That includes a 60% (12-8) margin in a 6-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Jan. 7, but as Johnny Gaudreau outlined at the morning skate, the locals haven't gotten much in the way of "puck luck" recently.
But the Flames aren't high on excuses.
They'd rather score first, play with a lead, and be the aggressors right through to the end.
The key is not to panic.
The Flames have proven they're a good team that can not only run with these teams, but beat them at their own game.
They piled up a season-high 49 shots in the previous meeting with the Cats, and if not for a few mistakes that cost them defensively, the Flames had no issue with the pace.
They'll need more of that tonight.
"I've been part of very successful teams and I've been on losing teams as well," Coleman said. "There is certainly a difference in the culture in the room as far as guys letting it get away. It's very easy in this game to point fingers, either as a group of forwards pointing at the goalie or the D, or vice-versa.
"You just can't let it happen.
"You've got to be a man and be mature and focus on your own game.
"I think every guy in our room is very unsatisfied with where they're at the last four games and they all have more to give. From what I've seen out of the guys, it's been a good response. Guys want to win; guys want to go to the playoffs and want to be there at the end of the year playing these competitive games.
"I expect everybody to continue working on their own game and (if) the compete is there as a team, we should be able to turn this around and be just fine."
