Cats & Coffee: Panthers Set to Embark on 1st Road Trip of 2020-21

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 Florida Panthers got their 2020-21 season started off on the right foot - or is it paw?
With a 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks in Sunday's home opener at BB&T Center, the Panthers were able to shake off the rust from an elongated absence while also putting two points in the bank to kick off what is expected to be a long and hectic journey to the playoffs.

One game down, 55 to go!
"Starting off with two points is huge for us, just getting confidence," said goaltender Chris Driedger, who turned aside 25 of 27 shots to pick up the win in net. "We've been watching other teams play for the last couple days, and we got a couple extra days of practice. Everyone's got little bit of nerves. We got that out in the first period and the guys just got to work."
With no shortage of new faces on the ice, a whopping eight different players made their Panthers debut against Chicago, including Radko Gudas, Alex Wennberg, Carter Verhaeghe Eetu Luostarinen, Gustav Forsling, Patric Hornqvist, Anthony Duclair, and Ryan Lomberg.
And while each and every one of these aforementioned players contributed to the win, it was Luostarinen that earned "First Star of the Game" honors after notching a goal and an assist. A 22-year-old rookie, the goal was not only his first in the NHL, but also the game-winning score.
"I loved his game," coach Joel Quenneville said of Luostarinen, who was acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes at last year's trade deadline. "He does a lot of good things. I think he's got some creativity to his game. The puck follows him around a bit. I think defensively he's got real good instincts, playing both sides of the puck. Offensively, he's a little niftier than you think."
Entering this week full of confidence, the Panthers will wrap up their two-game series against the Blackhawks on Tuesday at BB&T Center. After that, they'll embark on the first road trip of their season, kicking off a six-game journey with games in Carolina on Thursday and Saturday.
Finding success away from home, Florida owned an 18-12-4 record on the road in 2019-20. "Nothing brings a team closer than winning some hockey games," Driedger said.

THE GAMES

Tuesday: Chicago Blackhawks, 7:00 p.m. ET
The Panthers will go for a sweep of their mini two-game series against the Blackhawks (0-3-0) at BB&T Center on Tuesday night. After a tight 40 minutes of action, Florida registered three unanswered goals in the third period to secure a 5-2 win over Chicago in Game 1 on Sunday. Overall, the Blackhawks certainly haven't had a good trip to the Sunshine State. Prior to losing to the Panthers, they opened their season with a pair of losses to the Tampa Bay Lighting. In all three of their losses so far this season, they've surrendered five goals. After being held off the scoresheet in his first game of the season, Alex DeBrincat has earned points in each of the last two games to claim Chicago's scoring lead, racking up two goals and one assist in that span. With "cat" already conveniently in his name, the 23-year-old sniper has had success against the Panthers in the early stages of his career, racking up six points (three goals, three assists) in seven contests. As for the Panthers, look for Jonathan Huberdeau to keep piling up the points in this matchup. Florida's scoring leader with 78 points (23 goals, 55 assists) last season, the 27-year-old winger recorded a team-high three points (one goal, two assists) in Sunday's opener.
TV: FOX Sports Florida
Radio: 790 WAXY (DADE/BROWARD); 640 WMEN (PALM BEACH); 100.3 WCTH (FLORIDA KEYS); 1370/107.9 WZTA (TREASURE COAST) SIRIUSXM CH. 222/STREAMING 932
Tickets:
HERE
Thursday: at Carolina Hurricanes, 7:00 p.m. ET
After kicking off their 2020-21 campaign on home ice, the Panthers will kick off a six-game road trip against the Hurricanes (1-1-0) at PNC Arena on Thursday night. Following a 4-2 win in Detroit on opening night, Carolina enters this week on the heels of a 4-2 loss to the Red Wings on Saturday. Putting a dent on the scoresheet in each of the first two games of the year, Andrei Svechnikov leads the Hurricanes in both goals (2) and points (3). Lining up behind him, only Teuvo Teravainen has registered multiple points thus far. In six career games against Florida, Svechnikov has produced at a point-per-game clip, recording one goal and five assists in six games. As for the Panthers, look for Eetu Luostarinen to make some noise against his former club. Originally selected in the second round (42nd overall) by the Hurricanes in 2017, the 22-year-old center produced one point in eight games with Carolina last season before being shipped out to South Florida in February. This past season, the Cats went 1-2-0 against the Canes, winning back 4-2 on Dec. 21, 2019.
TV: FOX Sports Florida
Radio: 560 WQAM (DADE/BROWARD); 640 WMEN (PALM BEACH); 100.3 WCTH (FLORIDA KEYS); 1370/107.9 WZTA (TREASURE COAST) SIRIUSXM STREAMING 932
Saturday: at Carolina Hurricanes, 1:00 p.m. ET
Well, here we go again. With the 2020-21 season being built by continuously stacking two-game series on top of each other, the Panthers will battle the Hurricanes (1-1-0) yet again on Saturday afternoon at PNC Arena. Turning the attention to the men between the pipes, Petr Mrazek has started each game for Carolina this season, recording a 1.53 goals-against average, .912 save percentage and one shutout over those starts. In his career against Florida, the 28-year-old has gone 5-6-2 with a .901 save percentage and one shutout. If he doesn't get the nod in this game, look for former Panther James Reimer to be between the pipes. As for who will be manning the crease for the Cats, it'll either be Chris Driedger or Sergei Bobrovsky. While Driedger was great in Sunday's opener against the Blackhawks, Bobrovsky, who missed most of training camp while on the "unfit to play" list, is expected to be ready to return to action sooner rather than later. The good news is that both netminders have proven themselves worthy of the ice time. If Bobrovsky is the one that gets the nod, the 32-year-old veteran certainly has had some success against the Hurricanes in the past. In 22 career games against Carolina, he's gone 11-11-0 with a .928 save percentage and two shutouts. As for Driedger, he's gone 1-0-0 against the Canes.
TV: FOX Sports Florida
Radio: 560 WQAM (DADE/BROWARD); 640 WMEN (PALM BEACH); 100.3 WCTH (FLORIDA KEYS); 1370/107.9 WZTA (TREASURE COAST) SIRIUSXM STREAMING 932

KEEP THE ARENA ROCKING

There's no question the Panthers had a home-ice advantage against the Blackhawks.
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 2020-21.
For the limited number of fans that were allowed into the building on Sunday against Chicago, they were immediately greeted by bright new signage known as "Red Reminders," which were put together in partnership with Baptist Health South Florida to promote good safety practices.
These reminders included everything from social-distancing aids to contactless ordering details.
"It was great," goaltender Chris Driedger said of having the crowd behind him. "There were some funny signs out there. It was just good to see some support from the fans and stuff. It's pretty unique that we're able to do that. Pretty awesome to have some fans in there."
Planning a trip to the arena this season? For more information on what changes you can expect during your visit, click HERE.

PROSPECT SPOTLIGHT

Spencer Knight has remained on fire since winning a gold medal.
On Sunday, Knight, who backstopped USA to a 2-0 win over Canada in the championship game of the IIHF 2021 World Junior Championship just a few weeks ago, turned aside 30 of 33 shots to improve his record to a perfect 7-0-0 and lead Boston College to a 5-3 win over Merrimack.

In the midst of his sophomore season, Knight, who was selected by the Panthers with the 13th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, has allowed two-or-fewer goals in four of his first seven starts of the 2020-21 campaign, including posting back-to-back shutouts against Providence.
Entering this week, the 19-year-old netminder ranks tied for sixth in the nation in wins (7), eighth in goals-against average (1.71), sixth in save percentage (.948) and tied for fifth in shutouts (2).

CATS CLIP OF THE WEEK

You never forget your first NHL goal, especially if it's a beauty like this one. Congrats on No. 1, Eetu Luostarinen!

CATS IN THE COMMUNITY

Tweet from @StanleyCPanther: #NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/ztEpzMVrgW
Tweet from @ROARCorps: We had a ���spectacular��� time with @deliverthedream last night! We made our own Stanley Cup treats out of ice cream cones 🍦 and also made SNOW! ������������ Swipe to see our projects ������������ pic.twitter.com/GCvE9xqw2J

TERRITORY TALK

On the latest episode of the Territory Talk podcast, co-hosts Doug Plagens, Jameson Olive and Katie Gaus look into their crystal balls and make some bold predictions for the 2020-21 season.
Territory Talk: Florida Panthers Podcast
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COLD COFFEE (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

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Re-live Sunday night's win over Chicago with 5 Takeaways.
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Markus Nutivaara recently returned to the ice with the Panthers.
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Don't miss the first episode of "Inside the Panthers" this season!
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Sergei Bobrovsky "felt great" in his return to action.
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Kevin Connauton recently inked a one-year, two-way deal with Florida.
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The Cats claimed Noah Juulsen off waivers from Montreal last week.
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Panthers prospects dominated the World Juniors -- and these numbers prove it!
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Make sure to sign up for the new "93 Society" newsletter.
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Search for treasure within the Panthers Virtual Vault, presented by Baptist Health.