Cats gearing up for regular season, enjoying preseason getaways

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – The Cats can’t wait to get on the road again.

After a weekend in Sydney, Nova Scotia for a Kraft Hockeyville preseason matchup against the Senators, the Panthers will now head to the Amway Center in Orlando to take on the Lightning.

The first of three straight games between the cross-state rivals to close out the preseason, puck drop from Orlando is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, with the action streamed at FloridaPanthers.com.

“It’s good to get to spend time with the guys,” defenseman Josh Mahura said following Monday’s practice. “You go the whole summer without seeing them. At the end of the year you’re excited to get away, but everyone is excited to get back. We’re looking forward to getting on the road, being with each other, and getting the first trip out of the way is always a great time.”

Who’s the most excited to get to spend some time in the amusement-park capital of the world?

“Chucky (Matthew Tkachuk) probably,” Mahura smiled.

Of course, this is still a business trip.

With the Panthers looking to build off their run to the Stanley Cup Final, the anticipation on the ice and the locker room grows more and more with each day we get closer to Opening Night.

“Definitely starting to feel that buzz again,” said Mahura. “We’ve had a great camp. Guys are pushing each other and the pace, so things are definitely coming around.”

On Monday, the Panthers announced their camp roster had been reduced to 35 players, inching the team closer to the final roster that will soon travel to Minnesota for Game 1 of 82 on Oct. 12.

“We’re getting closer to our full roster, and you just want to be in tune with everyone,” said forward Evan Rodrigues, who joined the Panthers on a four-year contract during free agency this summer. “It’s the time you start to focus on the little things a little more, making the right plays, and not being overly fancy. It’ll be good to get to our final roster and playing some real games.”

As one of the new faces in the locker room, Rodrigues, like others, has seen the value in camp and the preseason to gain chemistry with new teammates.

“It’s been good,” said Rodrigues, who has been skating on the top line. “Getting a lot of opportunities to play with some really good players and trying to get chemistry as quickly as possible. As a new player, it’s the systems. You want to be able to make a read without thinking about it and know where you have to go on the ice without having to think. It’s just getting all those little things down and it’s a good opportunity to polish all those things off.”

Over halfway into the preseason, and with only three tune-up opportunities remaining, the Cats plan to use these last few games as a chance to give players time to get into their routines.

While there’s also still ongoing battles for spots, the pool of players continues to shrink.

“They (last year’s starters) will all go back in,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “Most will play two, three, some will play all three. We now have to return our focus to getting them ready and getting the returning players ready.”

Following Tuesday’s tilt in Orlando, the Cats will travel Tampa to face the Lightning again on Thursday before returning home to host the Bolts in Saturday’s preseason finale in Sunrise.

For tickets to watch the Panthers play in Orlando, click here.

To see them Saturday, click here.