Cats & Coffee: Panthers Prepare to Host Blackhawks in Home Opener

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.
The wait is finally almost over.
After having their initial season-opening series against the Dallas Stars postponed, the Florida Panthers are now preparing to kick off their 2020-21 campaign on Sunday against the Chicago Blackhawks at BB&T Center in Sunrise - the first real game played at the arena since March 7.

"Like everyone else, we're super excited for the season to start," said Patric Hornqvist, who is one of several new faces that are expected to be on the ice during the team's Home Opener.
Entering their 27th season, the Panthers currently boast a respectable 15-7-2-2 all-time record in Home Openers. Over the past nine seasons, they've gone 8-2-0 in their first game on home ice, including a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning to open up their home slate in 2019-20.
As we know, however, this season will be like no other due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
With the NHL revamping its divisions for health and economic reasons, the Panthers will strictly be facing off against only the Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars, Nashville Predators, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, Tampa Bay Lightning and Blackhawks in the Central Division.
Florida will face off against each of these teams eight times during the 56-game regular season.
When it's all said and done, the Panthers will need to be one of the top-four teams in this new-look division in order to secure a place in the playoffs and be in contention for the Stanley Cup.
There's a long road ahead, and the journey starts this week.
"I think everybody's just excited to get going again," captain Aleksander Barkov said. "It's been a while. We played four games in the last nine months. We're hockey players. We want to play hockey."

THE GAMES

Sunday: Chicago Blackhawks, 7:00 p.m. ET
In a showcase for just how unusual this season will be, the Panthers will open up their season against the Blackhawks (0-0-0) on Sunday night at BB&T Center. Typically facing off only twice a season, this matchup will mark the first of eight between the two new Central Division foes in 2020-21. Chicago finished last season with a 32-30-8 record and snuck into the NHL's "Return to Play" postseason as the 12th place team in the Western Conference. Once there, they upset the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers before being eliminated by the Vegas Golden Knights in Western Conference Quarterfinals in five games. Depleted down the middle, they are expected to start the season without their top centers - captain Jonathan Toews (undisclosed) and rookie Kirby Dach (wrist). The Blackhawks also have more than a few question marks in net as either Malcolm Subban or Collin Delia could start between the pipes. Of the two, Subban has the most experience, going 9-7-3 with a 3.17 goals-against average and .890 save percentage in 21 games with the Vegas Golden Knights and Chicago last season. Despite this offseason of change, however, the Blackhawks still pack a punch up front in the form of two players that both reached the 30-goal mark last season: Patrick Kane (33) and Dominik Kubalik (30). At the other end of the ice, look for the newcomers to make a splash with the Panthers, particularly Anthony Duclair and Patric Hornqvist, who both figure to be a part of the team's top-six. Hornqvist netted 17 goals in 52 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins last season, while Duclair, a 2020 NHL All-Star, scored a career-high 23 in 66 games with the Ottawa Senators. As for who will be between the pipes when the puck drops, we'll have to keep a close eye on camp this week to find out.
TV: FOX Sports Florida
Radio: TBD
Tickets:
HERE

RED REMINDERS

With the season set to begin, the Cats are prepared to welcome fans back to BB&T Center.
In addition to having the first NHL arena to achieve the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI)'s WELL Health-Safety Rating for Facility Operations and Management, the Panthers have been working closely with Broward County and Baptist Health South Florida to come up with comprehensive health and safety regulations for all patrons and staff to follow in 2019-20.
For the limited number of fans that are allowed into the arena later this week (the plan is to start with 25% capacity), they'll be greeted by bright new signage known as "Red Reminders," which were created in partnership with Baptist Health South Florida to promote good safety practices.
These reminders include everything from social-distancing aids to contactless ordering details.
"I'm incredibly proud of our exceptional staff's tireless work and dedication to ensuring the safest possible environment for Panthers fans and the South Florida community, who are an integral part of our team," Panthers President & CEO Matt Caldwell said in a release. "Through our rigorous collective efforts, we have achieved the highest of health and safety standards for BB&T Center, and couldn't be more excited or prepared to safely welcome back our fans at a limited, socially-distant capacity, and begin this next chapter of Panthers hockey with health and safety as our guiding priority."
For more information on what fans can expect during their visit, click HERE.

PRACTICE NOTEBOOKS

There's been no shortage of stories coming out of training camp during the past week.
Presented by Baptist Health South Florida, we here at FloridaPanthers.com have been putting together notebook-style article following each session thus far. These articles typically highlight a few key developments from each practice, while also providing other quotes, notes and lines.
So far, we've covered everything from newcomer Anthony Duclair's opportunity to play on the top line to growing chemistry between Aaron Ekblad and MacKenzie Weegar on the blue line.
If you'd like to get caught up, here are the notebooks we've penned so far:
Stay tuned for more notebooks following most Panthers practices all season long!

PROSPECT SPOTLIGHT

Ty Smilanic has been living up to lofty expectations during his freshman season at Quinnipiac.
The highest-drafted player in the school's history, Smilanic, who the Panthers scooped up in the third round (74th overall) back in October, has been finding the back of the net at an exceptional rate in recent weeks, notching at least one goal in five of his last seven games with the Bobcats.
On Sunday, the 18-year-old forward scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win over No. 12 Clarkson.

Entering this week, Smilanic is tied for third in the nation with eight goals. He's also one of just three rookies to register that many goals this season, joining Arizona State's Matthew Kopperud (10) and Denver's Carter Savoie (8). Of his eight goals, three have come while on the power play.

CATS CLIP OF THE WEEK

With a new season on the horizon, check out Aleksander Barkov's top-5 goals from 2019-20.
As you'd expect, No. 1 on the list is particularly filthy.

CATS IN THE COMMUNITY

Tweet from @StanleyCPanther: Had so much fun learning how to play tennis with my coach and pro player @SamQuerrey at the @DelrayBeachOpen. #delraybeach #reverseretro #oneterritory pic.twitter.com/0RUfjOFm93

TERRITORY TALK

On the latest episode of the Territory Talk podcast, co-hosts Doug Plagens and Jameson Olive break down some of the early storylines from Panthers training camp, including where Anthony Duclair is slotting in up front and the composition of the team's top-defensive pairing. Plus, the duo also recaps how Cats prospects dominated at the 2021 IIHF World Juniors Championship.
Territory Talk: Florida Panthers Podcast
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COLD COFFEE (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

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Season 2 of "Panthers Uncaged" has arrived!
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Here's a few milestones to keep an eye on this season.
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Sunny Mehta has been named Vice President of Hockey Strategy & Intelligence for the Panthers.
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The Panthers will be able to send prospects to AHL Syracuse this season.
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Panthers prospects dominated the World Juniors -- and these numbers prove it!
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Miss last week's instrasquad scrimmage? We've got you covered.
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You can catch the Panthers on FOX Sports Florida this season.
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Make sure to sign up for the new "93 Society" newsletter.
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Purchase a signed "mystery puck" to support the Florida Panthers Foundation.
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Search for treasure within the Panthers Virtual Vault, presented by Baptist Health.