MONTREAL -- Aleksander Barkov isn't the loudest voice in the room - but luckily he doesn't have to be.

A few days after it was announced that Barkov would assume the mantle of captain from veteran Derek MacKenzie, the Panthers reaffirmed their commitment to a young leadership group with the unveiling of the team's alternate captains - a group featuring three more players, like Barkov, under the age of 26.

MONTREAL - Evgenii Dadonov and Jared McCann each scored twice and Roberto Luongo made 20 saves as the Florida Panthers topped the Montreal Canadiens 5-2 on Wednesday night at the Bell Centre to earn their first victory of the preseason.

With the majority of their projected regular-season roster taking the ice, the Panthers (1-2-0) came out firing on all cylinders, scoring two goals in the first period thanks to the play of their revamped top-six forward group and power play.

MONTREAL - Roberto Luongo will see his first competitive action in almost six months when the Florida Panthers battle the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night at the Bell Centre.

SUNRISE, Fla. - Florida Panthers President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Dale Tallon announced today that Florida Panthers forwards Jonathan Huberdeau and Vincent Trocheck and Panthers defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Keith Yandle have been named the club's alternate captains. Trocheck and Yandle will begin the season as alternate captains for Panthers home games, Ekblad and Huberdeau will begin the season as alternate captains for Panthers road games.

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. - After giving mostly prospects and bubble players a chance to shine during the preseason doubleheader against Nashville on Monday, the Florida Panthers left for Montreal on Tuesday with most their big guns in tow, including goaltender Roberto Luongo.

"It was the right thing to do the last two days," coach Bob Boughner said after a quick practice at the Panthers IceDen. "We gave some guys some shots and some looks. Now we want to, like I've said the last couple days, we want to get serious and start getting our own guys out there…I know the guys are excited to get back in their routine, hop on a plane."

SUNRISE, Fla. - Florida Panthers President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Dale Tallon announced today the club's roster has been reduced to 41 players.

SUNRISE, Fla. - It was the tale of two games for the Florida Panthers.

After suffering a lopsided 5-0 loss earlier in the day, the Panthers showed a lot more fight in the nightcap of their annual doubleheader against the Nashville Predators, taking an early lead but eventually losing 5-3 on Monday night at BB&T Center thanks to a hat trick from Filip Forsberg.

SUNRISE, Fla. - The word "lead by example" gets thrown around a lot in sports.

If a star player makes a big play at a big moment, they are often considered a leader, the type of player that can put the team on his or her back and carry the squad to victory. For some, this is enough to be called a captain. But for others, leadership extends beyond the game and into the countless unseen hours of work when the clock isn't running.

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 competition for roster spots is about to heat up.

SUNRISE, Fla. - Florida Panthers President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Dale Tallon announced today that forward Aleksander Barkov has been named the 10th captain in Panthers franchise history.

Over Florida's 25-year history in the NHL, Barkov joins a group of captains including: Brian Skrudland (1993-94 to 1997-98), Scott Mellanby (1997-98 to 2000-01), Pavel Bure (2001-02), Paul Laus (2001-02), Olli Jokinen (2003-04 to 2007-08), Bryan McCabe (2009-10 to 2010-11), Ed Jovanovski (2012-13 to 2013-14), Willie Mitchell (2014-15 to 2015-16) and Derek MacKenzie (2016-17 to 2017-18).