Cats & Coffee: Battling the Bolts; Retro Paradise Night

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 Panthers will get their first look at their cross-state rival this week.
After facing the Red Wings on Tuesday, the Panthers will then battle the defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning in three straight games. The first of those two games will be played at BB&T Center on Thursday and Saturday before the action shifts to Tampa Bay for a game on Feb. 15.

During that matchup on Saturday, the Panthers will also pay homage to their past during "Retro Paradise Night" as they don their spiffy new Reverse Retro jerseys for the first time this season.
"They're great," defenseman Aaron Ekblad said of the jerseys. "Obviously, I remember when we used to wear jerseys fairly similar to that with a different color. I love the idea by the league, and I think it's great I'll be able to look back on our heritage and reminisce on my early years here."
As for the games themselves, they couldn't get any bigger.
Looking to shake off their first regulation loss of the season, the Panthers (6-1-2) enter this week in third place in the Central Division. The Lightning (7-1-1), meanwhile, occupy first. But before Florida can worry about Tampa Bay, they must first take care of business on Tuesday.
"I feel like we had a great start to the season," forward Alex Wennberg said after Sunday's loss to Detroit. "Obviously, this is not the result we wanted, but we can't bury our heads too much… Right now, we're playing them again, and I feel like that's a great opportunity to get back at it."
Here's everything you need to know for the week ahead…

THE GAMES

Tuesday: Detroit Red Wings, 7:00 p.m. ET
The Panthers will look to get back in the win column when they wrap up their two-game series with the Red Wings (3-8-2) on Tuesday at BB&T Center. Prior to earning a victory in Florida on Sunday, Detroit had lost eight straight games while being outscored 33-13 in those contests. At the bottom of the Central Division, the Red Wings own the NHL's 30th-ranked offense (2.00 goals per game) and 24th-ranked defense (3.38 goals allowed per game. Dylan Larkin leads the team in scoring with nine points (four goals, five assists), but has been held off the scoresheet in each of the last three games. Not far behind him, Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi are tied for second on the team with seven points apiece. For the Panthers, look for captain Aleksander Barkov to make his presence felt in this contest. Ranking second on the team in scoring with 11 points (four goals, seven assists), the 25-year-old center is usually very effective versus Detroit, producing 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists) in 28 career contests against the boys from the Motor City. Overall, Florida has won eight of its last nine games against Detroit.
TV: FOX Sports Florida
Radio: 560 WQAM (DADE/BROWARD); 640 WMEN (PALM BEACH); 100.3 WCTH (FLORIDA KEYS); 107.9 FM/1370 AM WZTA (TREASURE COAST) SIRIUSXM CH. 220/STREAMING 932
Tickets:
HERE
Thursday and Saturday: Tampa Bay Lightning, 7:00 p.m. ET
The Panthers will face off against their cross-state rival for the first time this season when the Lightning (7-1-1) visit BB&T Center for a two-game series on Thursday and Saturday. Entering the week in first place in the Central Division, Tampa Bay has won each of its last four games, including a 3-1 win against the Red Wings on Friday. With seemingly no hangover to speak of after winning the Stanley Cup in 2020, the powerhouse Lightning currently boast the NHL's fifth-ranked offense (3.56 goals per game) and top-ranked defense (2.00 goals allowed per game). In the absence of 2019 Hart Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov, the team has been doing most of its damage through a very balanced attack. While Brayden Point, Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman are all tied for the team-scoring lead with 10 points, seven players under them have at least five points apiece. At the other end of the action, a lot of eyes will be on Carter Verhaeghe as he battles his former team. Leaving Tampa Bay in favor of signing with the Panthers as a free agent this offseason, the 25-year-old forward is in the midst of a career season with Florida. Playing a crucial top-line role, he leads the team in goals (6) and also ranks third in points (9).
TV: FOX Sports Florida
Radio Thursday: 560 WQAM (DADE/BROWARD); 640 WMEN (PALM BEACH); 100.3 WCTH (FLORIDA KEYS); 107.9 FM/1370 AM WZTA (TREASURE COAST) SIRIUSXM CH. 220/STREAMING 932
Radio Saturday: 560 WQAM (DADE/BROWARD); 640 WMEN (PALM BEACH); 100.3 WCTH (FLORIDA KEYS); 107.9 FM/1370 AM WZTA (TREASURE COAST) SIRIUSXM CH. TBD/STREAMING 932
Tickets:
HERE

MILESTONE WATCH

Jonathan Huberdeau is three assists away from his 300th NHL assist.
Brett Connolly is two goals away from his 100th NHL goal.
Radko Gudas is five assists away from his 100th NHL assist.

REVERSE RETRO

The Panthers will turn back the clock this Saturday.
Suiting up in their new Reverse Retro jerseys for the first time this season, the Panthers will celebrate "Retro Paradise Night" when they host the rival Lightning at BB&T Center on Feb. 13.
Available now at FLATeamShop.com, this sweet looking sweater has been earning some rave reviews both within and outside of South Florida ever since it was unveiled by adidas back in November. Paying homage to the franchise's run to the Stanley Cup Final in 1996, the jersey features the iconic leaping panther logo as well as many other nods to the club's colorful past.

The Panthers will also wear their Reverse Retro jerseys at home on Feb. 27 vs. the Hurricanes, March 13 vs. the Blackhawks, March 20 vs. the Predators and April 3 vs. the Blue Jackets.
So, come check out the Cats in their new threads while also sporting some of your own!

MOBILE ORDERING

It's now easier than ever to place an order at BB&T Center.
After bringing in Venuetize as their mobile partner and Bypass, now part of Fiserv, as their point-of-sale system partner, the Panthers can now offer fans safe and convenient purchasing experiences by enabling mobile ordering through the NHL app as well as contactless purchases and payments via self-service kiosks and Clover devices at concession stands within the arena.

"After a long and thorough search for the best mobile partner for the Florida Panthers and BB&T Center, we're excited to partner with Venuetize to provide a safe, convenient and contactless experience for fans as they attend games at the BB&T Center," Panthers Chief Operating Officer Sean McCaffrey said in a release.
"With the addition of the Bypass partnership, we are able to seamlessly integrate the mobile fan experience with the latest innovative point-of-sale technology to make sure fans have a safe and smooth purchasing process while at BB&T Center events and hockey games."
In order to begin using this new mobile-ordering technology, download the NHL app from the App Store or Google Play. After that, select the Panthers are your favorite team when the app prompts you and then you're all set to begin making purchases at games in Sunrise.
For more information on the downloading process, click HERE. Visit
FloridaPanthers.com/MobileOrdering
for all other information.

PROSPECT SPOTLIGHT

Sam Montembeault kicked off his fourth season in the AHL with a bang. Manning the crease during Syracuse's season opener on Saturday (the Panthers are loaning players to the Lightning's affiliate in 2020-21), the 24-year-old goaltender turned aside 32 of 33 shots -- including 12 in the third period alone -- to backstop the Crunch to a 6-1 win over Utica.

Supporting Montembeault in the win were several other fellow Panthers prospects: Henry Bowlby (goal), Grigori Denisenko (assist), John Ludvig (assist) and Riley Stillman (assist). To learn more about all 11 prospects Florida currently has in Syracuse, click HERE.

CATS CLIP OF THE WEEK

It looks like all five of these Panthers players nailed their picks for the Super Bowl.

CATS IN THE COMMUNITY

Tweet from @dave_grad: Panthers surprised me at my house. Thanks Sergei Bobrovsky for the awesome jersey. Please visit https://t.co/BmLoYd2LK3 to vote for me for Most Valuable Teacher the month of February. PLEASE VOTE! One vote per day. Tag others to vote @FlaPanthers @PBCSTEM pic.twitter.com/cDjNQrRXQ1

TERRITORY TALK

On the latest episode of the Territory Talk podcast, rookie forward Aleksi Heponiemi joined the show to talk about scoring the game-winning goal in overtime during his NHL debut on Jan. 30.
Territory Talk: Florida Panthers Podcast
·

COLD COFFEE (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

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Student Rush Nights are back at BB&T Center this season!
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Cats and hot dogs living together?! The Panthers have a new official hot dog.
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The Panthers have re-assigned Scott Wilson to the Taxi Squad.
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Aleksi Heponiemi has been loaned to AHL Syracuse.
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Prospect Greg Meireles was named the ECHL's "Rookie of the Month" for January.
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Roberto Luongo has his eyes set on gold at the Winter Olympics once again.
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The Panthers are off to a hot start on the power play.
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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.