Cats & Coffee: NHL Draft Lottery; Home Team Finale

Good morning and welcome to "Cats & Coffee," a weekly segment presented by Community Coffee in which we get you caffeinated with an exciting look at the week ahead for the Florida Panthers.
The Florida Panthers are hoping the ping pong balls will bounce in their favor when the order of the first 15 picks in June's draft are decided at the 2018 NHL Draft Lottery on Saturday, April 28 in Toronto.

The lottery will consist of three drawings to determine which team will pick first, second and third overall in the first round of the draft, which will be held at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on Friday, June 22.
After finishing the season with 96 points - the most points among teams that did not qualify for the playoffs -- Florida enters the lottery with a 1.0 percent chance of landing the No. 1 overall selection and a 3.3 percent shot at a top-three pick.
Buffalo, which finished with the fewest points, has an 18.5 percent chance of landing the top pick, with Ottawa (13.5) and Arizona (11.5) right behind them.
Once the top three picks are decided, the 12 remaining teams will be slotted in order of their 2017-18 regular-season records, from worst to best, to round out the top 15 selections.
If the Panthers fail to move into the top three, they will hold the 15th overall pick.
Stay tuned to

on Twitter for updates on lottery night.

HOME TEAM FINALE

They're proud to be Panthers.
In the final episode of the four-part miniseries Home Team: Florida Panthers, Roberto Luongo plays in his 1,000th NHL game as the team looks ahead to a promising future after falling just short of the playoffs with 96 points.
If you missed any episodes of the incredible behind-the-scenes series, all of them can be found at FloridaPanthers.com.

JOIN THE TERRITORY

There's never been a better time to become a Season Ticket Holder.
Join the Panthers as they celebrate their 25th anniversary during the 2018-19 season and enjoy all the benefits that come with being a Season Ticket Holder, such as merchandise discounts, exclusive savings on concessions and priority access to concerts and events.
"We're here because of your commitment," said Panthers President & CEO Matthew Caldwell to season ticket holders. "Your support and passion for hockey in South Florida means the world to us and we are honored to have you as a part of our family. We look forward to having you as a part of this historic 25th anniversary season, while making exciting new memories."
Visit
https://www.nhl.com/panthers/tickets
or call (954) 835-PUCK to learn more.

CATS IN THE COMMUNITY

COLD COFFEE (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• The Panthers
  trusted the system in the first season under new head coach Bob Boughner
  .
  - In the final entry of his blog,
  defenseman Alexander Petrovic looks back on the big steps the Panthers took this season. 
  - Aleksander Barkov has been
  named a finalist for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for the second time in his career.
  - Roberto Luongo
  is a finalist for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
  .
  - The Panthers
  were one of the toughest teams in the NHL this season
  .
  - What does it take to become an NHL equipment manager? Find out from Panthers head equipment manager Teddy Richards in this week's episode of the "Territory Talk" podcast!