Cats & Coffee: A Plan in Place; Fan Choice Awards

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 still have a chance to capture the ultimate prize.

With the long-awaited unveiling of the NHL's return-to-play plan last week, the regular season has officially come to an end. Whenever players do return to the ice, it will be to compete in a 24-team, conference-based playoff. The good news? The Panthers are one of those 24 teams.

By virtue of their 35-26-8 record, Florida will enter the postseason (which will be played at two hub cities without fans) as the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference. In a rematch from 2016, they will battle the seventh-seeded New York Islanders in the Qualifying Round of the playoffs.

Unlike later rounds, the Qualifying Round will be an abbreviated best-of-five series.

"It will be an equal playing field," Panthers President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Dale Tallon said during a media conference call last week. "No one will have an advantage or an edge. When we start, everybody will be starting on the same date. It's just a matter of getting our timing down and getting our systems down.

"I think by now our players should understand what [Panthers coach Joel Quenneville] is trying to do. That's the key. We have to be ready. Everyone's going to be healthier. Everyone's going to be rested. It's going to be quite a race to the finish. In a short series, anything can happen. You've got to be prepared mentally and physically."

[For an easy-to-understand animated version of the NHL's plan, click HERE.]

As the Panthers prepare for what they hope will be a very deep postseason run, Tallon said the entire roster is healthy and ready go. That includes the team's two-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender, Sergei Bobrovsky, who missed the final four games before the pause on March 12.

Last year, Bobrovsky played the role of hero for the Columbus Blue Jackets, backstopping the club to a first-round sweep over the top-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning. In 10 games during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the 31-year-old veteran went 6-4-0 with a .925 save percentage.

When Bobrovsky is at his best, the Panthers know they have a shot to win any game they're in.

"He's another guy that works extremely hard," Tallon said of Bobrovsky, who joined the team on a seven-year contract this past summer. "He was disappointed with his season up until now. He has something to prove, and that's a good thing. I expect him to be at the top of his game. And when he's at the top of his game you have a chance to win. We're counting on him, we're relying on him, and we expect big things from him."

Now, before players can even return to the ice, there are still hurdles that need to be overcome.

The next step on the road to the postseason will occur when the NHL launches "Phase 2" of its return-to-play plan, which centers around teams returning to their home facilities for small group, voluntary, and on and off-ice training. The goal is for this phase to begin sometime in mid-June.

If "Phase 2" goes off without a hitch, "Phase 3" will kick off with training camps sometime in July.

"At the pause, we committed to resuming play only when appropriate and prudent," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in the announcement. "We are hopeful the Return To Play Plan will allow us to complete the season and award the Stanley Cup in a manner in which the health and safety of our players, on-ice officials, team staff and associated individuals involved are paramount."

In the meantime, the Panthers are one of 24 teams still chasing the Stanley Cup.

What more could you ask for? Stay tuned to FloridaPanthers.com for more information in the coming weeks.

LAST DAY TO VOTE

Today is your last chance to vote in the 2020 NHL Fan Choice Awards! The Panthers are currently competing in four categories: Stanley C. Panther for "Best Mascot," BB&T Center for "Best Building," defenseman Keith Yandle for "Funniest Player," and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky as one half of "Best Bromance" along with Rangers forward Artemi Panarin.

Earlier this season, Yandle was dubbed the "Funniest Player" by his peers in an NHLPA poll.

"I've been working my balloon animals quite a bit," Video: Inside The Panthers At Home: Dale Tallon

Fans are encouraged to vote at Video: Inside The Panthers At Home: Dale Tallonand also share their selections on social media using the official hashtag #NHLFanChoice.

The winners of the 20 categories will be announced on June 3, 2020.

MATH CLASS

As part of the NHL's Future Goals program, Panthers defenseman Mike Matheson paid a special visit to a virtual class of students from over 20 schools throughout South Florida last week.

Even before his cameo, however, students within the program were already familiar with Matheson thanks to one of the staples of the Future Goals programs, "Hockey Scholar."

Created by Everfi, the "Hockey Scholar" curriculum guides students through 12 different hockey-themed learning modules that test their knowledge on core STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) concepts. Then, when they're outside of the classroom, the program also let's students experience the game of hockey first-hand with floorball clinics.

"You can tell that the kids love playing ball hockey outside, but then to see them use it in the classroom like this, it's cool to see," Matheson said while visiting a local school in 2018. "First off, they have access to laptops for every kid. When I was their age, there was no chance we'd have an opportunity like that.

"It's really cool they have a chance to do that. They can take real life experiences, things they'd take from watching our games, and then apply it to learning mathematics and science in the classroom."

From a pop quiz to a Q&A, you can check out how Matheson's digital visit went Video: Inside The Panthers At Home: Dale Tallon.

CATS CLIP OF THE WEEK

What does Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville think of the NHL's return-to-play plan? Find out during the latest installment of "Chats with the Cats," presented by DEX Imaging.

CATS IN THE COMMUNITY

TERRITORY TALK

Panthers defenseman MacKenzie Weegar joined a recent episode of the Territory Talk podcast to discuss his desire to get back on the ice, his training regime under quarantine, and his thoughts on "The Last Dance."

Video: Inside The Panthers At Home: Dale Tallon · Video: Inside The Panthers At Home: Dale Tallon

PANTHERLAND CURBSIDE PICKUP & DELIVERY

Did you know Pantherland is now doing curbside pickup and delivery?

Visit Video: Inside The Panthers At Home: Dale Tallon to check out all the new collections and to order something for the Panthers fan in your life. Curbside pickup is available every Friday and Saturday from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. at BB&T Center.

COLD COFFEE (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

-- Video: Inside The Panthers At Home: Dale Tallon

-- Video: Inside The Panthers At Home: Dale Tallon

-- Video: Inside The Panthers At Home: Dale Tallon

-- Video: Inside The Panthers At Home: Dale Tallon

-- Video: Inside The Panthers At Home: Dale Tallon

-- Video: Inside The Panthers At Home: Dale Tallon

-- Video: Inside The Panthers At Home: Dale Tallon

-- Video: Inside The Panthers At Home: Dale Tallon

-- Video: Inside The Panthers At Home: Dale Tallon