Cats & Coffee: Panthers Look to Punch Their Playoff Ticket

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.

Don't look now, but the Panthers can punch their playoff ticket this week.
On the precipice of reaching the postseason for just the seventh time in franchise history, the Panthers will kick off their final road trip with back-to-back games in Nashville on Monday and Tuesday before wrapping up their quick trek with games in Chicago on Thursday and Saturday.
After that, they'll close out the regular season with a three-game homestand in Sunrise.
Picking up wins in five of their last seven games, the Panthers (31-13-5) enter this week trailing the Hurricanes (31-10-6) by just one point for first place in the Central Division, but can clinch a place in the playoffs as early as Monday if they manage to defeat the Predators in any fashion.
Additionally, the Panthers can also lock up their spot in the postseason if they earn at least one point against the Predators and the Hurricanes lend a hand by defeating the Stars in regulation.
Speaking of Carolina, the Cats are riding high after a huge divisional win.
Although they'd come up short in six of the previous seven games in their season series, the Panthers essentially wiped the slate clean when Aleksander Barkov scored 24 seconds into overtime to secure an exhilarating 4-3 win over the Hurricanes on Saturday at BB&T Center.
"We were battling with this challenge all year, trying find ways to stick with it and win the games," said Barkov, who's lit the lamp 14 times over his last 18 games to push his team-leading goal total to 22. "We never gave up. Even in those games when we didn't come up with points, we didn't give up. Finally, we got the result. Obviously, this is only the regular season. If you want to go all the way, there's going to be games like this. This was good practice for that."
Feeding off that momentum, the Panthers believe they're poised to make even more noise.
"That's a top team in our league," Panthers defenseman MacKenzie Weegar said. "They've had our number all year and I just didn't want to lose. I didn't want to lose to that team. I wanted to make a statement. If we see them in the playoffs, I want them to know that we can beat you."
Here's everything you need to know for the week ahead…

THE GAMES

Monday and Tuesday: at Nashville Predators, 8 p.m. ET
The Panthers will kick off their final road trip of the season with a back-to-back set against the Predators (26-21-2) at Bridgestone Arena on Monday and Tuesday. Holding a two-point lead over Dallas for fourth place in the Central Division, Nashville enters this week with wins in four of its last seven games, including a 3-1 victory at Chicago on Friday. On the offensive side of the puck, Filip Forsberg and Roman are tied for first on the Predators in scoring with 29 points apiece, while Mikael Granlund and Calle Jarnkrok have each scored 12 goals. When looking at Nashville's recent success, however, the story starts and ends with Juuse Saros. Owning a 17-9-1 record with a .926 save percentage, the 26-year-old goalie has been on top of his game for over a month. Dating back to March 23, he's gone 11-3-1 with a .939 save percentage and two shutouts. As for the Panthers, look for Jonathan Huberdeau to find a way to pick up a few points in this two-game series. Florida's scoring leader with 52 points (16 goals, 36 assists), the 27-year-old forward is currently riding a seven-game point streak in which he's registered two goals and eight assists. Of course, Huberdeau has also been nearly unstoppable in his previous six games against Nashville this season, filling up the scoresheet with six goals and four assists.
TV: Bally Sports Florida (Mon), Bally Sports Sun (Tues)
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 850 WFTL (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 107.9 FM/1370 AM (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM App & Streaming Ch. 932
Thursday and Saturday: at Chicago Blackhawks, 8 p.m. ET
Wrapping up their final road trip of the regular season, the Panthers will visit the Windy City for a two-game series against the Blackhawks (22-21-5) at United Center on Thursday and Saturday. Fighting to stay afloat in the playoff race in the Central Division, Chicago has won four of its last seven games, but enters this week fresh off a 3-1 loss against Nashville on Friday. Fueled by a two-headed monster up front, Patrick Kane leads the Blackhawks in scoring with 58 points (15 goals, 43 assists), while Alex DeBrincat paces the club and ranks seventh in the league with 23 goals. In six games against Florida this season, that duo has combined for 11 points (four goals, seven assists. Looking to shut down Chicago's attack while also chipping in a few points of his own, look for MacKenzie Weegar to make his presence felt with the Panthers during these two games. Ranking first among Florida's defensemen in scoring with a career-high 29 points (four goals, 25 assists), the 27-year-old also sits tied for second among all NHL blueliners in even-strength points (26), first in takeaways (36) and tied for sixth in plus/minus (+21). He also leads the Panthers in blocked shots (69) and ranks second on the team in hits (108).
TV: NBC Sports Network (Thurs), Bally Sports Florida (Sat)
Radio:560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 640 WMEN (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 107.9 FM/1370 AM (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM App & Streaming Ch. 932

MILESTONE WATCH

Sergei Bobrovsky is five wins away from his 300th NHL win.
Keith Yandle is four points away from his 600th NHL point.

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Think you're a Panthers superfan? It's time to put your knowledge to the test!
Presented by Baptist Health, a brand-new "Trivia Challenge" is now available for fans to enjoy within the Panthers Virtual Vault. After answering each question, fans will also have the option to explore the topic even further by checking out linked items within the vault's vast archives.
Once the challenge is complete, fans can also enter to win tickets to an upcoming game.
Ready to give it a go? Click HERE to begin the "Trivia Challenge" right now!

HOCKEY FIGHTS CANCER

The Panthers turned purple to celebrate "Hockey Fights Cancer" night on Saturday.
In addition to hosting a heroic anthem singer (see "Cats Clip of the Week" below), the Panthers also presented Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, which serves as the official sponsor of "Hockey Fights Cancer" night, with a $25,000 donation to support their crucial cancer research.

Prior to puck drop, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center also provided 1,500 rally towels for fans to show their support throughout the game. Plus, players donned purple "Hockey Fights Cancer" jerseys during warmups that are currently available to purchase at
FLATeamShop.com
.

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 items such as jerseys, T-shirts and much more.

As a reminder, fans can get the best deal on 50/50 tickets when purchasing ahead of time.
To learn more about this "Road Trip Special," click HERE.

PROSPECT SPOTLIGHT

To the surprise of no one, Anton Lundell achieved another milestone last week.
Helping HIFK complete a 3-0 sweep in the quarterfinals of the Liiga Playoffs, the 19-year-old forward netted the first postseason goal of his career in a 5-2 victory over Karpat on April 22.
After his teammate forced a turnover in the neutral zone, Lundell, who also boasted five shots on goal and a +2 rating in the win, skated down the slot all alone on Karpat goaltender Justus Annunen before slipping the puck through his five-hole to put HIFK up 2-0 in the first period.

Taken by the Panthers with the 12th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, Lundell produced at nearly a point-per-game clip during an outstanding regular season with HIFK, racking up 25 points in 26 games played. Of those 25 points, a team-leading 16 came in the form of goals.
Chasing a Liiga championship, Lundell will continue his playoff run later this week when HIFK opens a best-of-five series with TPS on Thursday.

CATS CLIP OF THE WEEK

After this anthem, there was no way the Panthers were losing.
As part of the organization's annual "Hockey Fights Cancer" night on Saturday, two-time cancer survivor Molly Oldham brought BB&T Center to life with an emotional rendition of the national anthem before the Panthers went on to defeat the Hurricanes by a score of 4-3 in overtime.

CATS IN THE COMMUNITY

TERRITORY TALK

On the latest episode of the Territory Talk podcast, The Athletic's Sara Civian joins the show to talk about the heated season series between the Panthers and Hurricanes. Plus, co-hosts Doug Plagens and Jameson Olive discuss the immediate success of Florida's deadline acquisitions.

COLD COFFEE (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

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Re-live Saturday's overtime win over the Hurricanes with "5 Takeaways."
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You sent in questions, and Alex Wennberg answered.
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Spencer Knight is just the latest U.S.-born goaltender to reach the NHL.
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Learn the story behind a one-of-kind goaltending mask.
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Roberto Luongo will be serving as Canada's general manager for the 2021 IIHF World Championship.
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There's something big coming to Fort Lauderdale in the summer of 2022.
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The Panthers Podcast Network has arrived! Learn how to listen and subscribe now.
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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 unique game-used items available right now at FLATeamShop.com.