Cats & Coffee: One Last Road Trip; Autism Awareness 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 Florida Panthers are hitting the road this week for four matchups all against Atlantic Division foes.

Starting on Monday in Toronto, the Panthers will kick off their final road trip of the season, a four-game swing that will also take them through Montreal on Tuesday, Ottawa on Thursday and Boston on Saturday. As it stands now, Florida owns a 14-17-6 record away from home.
Florida (33-30-12) enters the week on the heels of a 7-3 loss to the Bruins on Saturday. Prior to that defeat, the Panthers had been playing some fantastic hockey, winning five of their previous seven contests while outscoring their opponents by a margin of 28-17 in that seven-game span.
Panthers head coach Bob Boughner said he believes his team needs to get back to that level of play.
"I just don't want us to beat ourselves. I want to play hard," Boughner said when asked about the road ahead after Saturday's loss. "We've been doing that lately. We've been playing good hockey. Tonight was one of those games where it wasn't a good game against a good team."
Following their trip, Florida will kick off its final homestand of the season on April 1.
Here's everything you need to know for the week ahead…

THE GAMES

Monday: at Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:00 p.m.
The Panthers will look to get their trip started off on the right foot when they kick off a back-to-back set against the Maple Leafs (44-25-6) on Monday at Scotiabank Center. Toronto enters the week in the midst of a mild slump, having lost five of its last seven games while allowing a total of 31 goals (4.43 goals per game) in that span. Mitch Marner leads the team in points (87), while John Tavares paces the club in goals (41). The Panthers are 2-1-0 against Toronto this season, thanks in large part to captain Aleksander Barkov. Of his career-high 34 goals, three have come against the Leafs this season. The hottest forward in the NHL, Barkov leads the league in scoring since Feb. 17, posting 15 goals and 34 points during that 19-game span.
TV:FSF
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 640 WMEN (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 1370 WAXE (Treasure Coast)
Tuesday: at Montreal Canadiens, 7:30 p.m.
Florida will have a chance to play the role of spoiler when they wrap up their back-to-back set against the Canadiens (40-28-8) on Tuesday at Bell Centre. Losing three of its last six games, Montreal enters the week holding a slim two-point lead over Columbus for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, while also having played one more game than the Blue Jackets. In net, Carey Price has been outstanding over his last six starts, posting a 3-2-1 record with a .942 save percentage in that span. Looking to knock the former Vezina Trophy winner off his game for the Panthers will be Jonathan Huberdeau, who has recorded 10 goals and 20 assists over his last 19 games to push his career-high point total to 82 (23 goals, 59 assists) this season.
TV:FSF
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 640 WMEN (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 1370 WAXE (Treasure Coast)
Thursday: at Ottawa Senators, 7:30 p.m.
The Panthers will have their last matchup of the season north of the border when they visit the Senators (26-43-6) on Thursday at Canadian Tire Centre. Despite the fact that they occupy last place in the Atlantic Division, Ottawa has been showing some fight as of late, winning three of their last five games, including a 4-3 overtime win in Edmonton on Saturday. Rookie forward Brady Tkachuk leads the Senators in goals (19), including three over his last three games. As for the Panthers, there's a good chance that Mike Hoffman lights the lamp against his former team. In his first season with the Panthers after spending his entire career with Ottawa, the 29-year-old winger has been fantastic, leading the team in goals (35) and power-play goals (17).
TV: FSF
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 640 WMEN (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 1370 WAXE (Treasure Coast)
Saturday: at Boston Bruins, 1:00 p.m.
The Panthers will take the ice for their final road game of the 2018-19 campaign when they visit the Bruins (46-20-9) on Saturday at TD Garden. Boston enters the week with wins in each of its last four games, including a 7-3 win in Sunrise on Saturday that helped the team clinch a playoff berth. Owning league's third-ranked defense (2.48 goals allowed per game, the Bruins can also put the puck in the back of the net, as they boast three 30-goal scorers in Patrice Bergeron (31), Brad Marchand (32) and David Pastrnak (33). For the Panthers, look for Keith Yandle to chip in some points on the man advantage in this matchup, as the 32-year-old defenseman leads the club with a franchise-record 38 power-play points, which also ranks third in the NHL this season.
TV: FSF
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 640 WMEN (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys)

MILESTONE WATCH

• Keith Yandle is six goals away from his 100th NHL goal.
  - Frank Vatrano is three games away from his 200th NHL game.
  - Vincent Trocheck is one goal away from his 100th NHL goal.
  - Mike Hoffman is three points away from his 300th NHL point.

UFC COMING TO SUNRISE

Before they start throwing punches, a pair of UFC stars came together to drop the puck.
Prior to Florida's 4-2 win over Arizona on March 21, No. 1-ranked UFC middleweight contender Yoel Romero and No. 3-ranked UFC middleweight Jacaré Souza toured BB&T Center and met with members of the Panthers before dropping the ceremonial first puck together at center ice.

On April 27, the two fighters will return to the arena to headline UFC's main event.
"He's a very tough guy," Romero, who fights out of nearby Coconut Creek, said of Souza. "He's an incredible fighter and a beautiful person. I have a big respect for him. It is what it is. We need to fight. But at the end of the day, that's the sport. You fight one day, then the life continues."
To watch these two bruisers battle it out in the Octagon, visit TheBBTCenter.com for tickets.

AUTISM AWARENESS NIGHT

The Panthers will host their annual Autism Awareness Night on April 1. During their matchup against Washington, a private sensory-friendly lounge will be available for families. A portion of all ticket sales that are bought through
this link
will go to Autism Speaks.

In honor of National Autism Awareness Day's "Light It Up Blue" campaign, the Panthers will also be turning all of their social media accounts blue for the evening. Additionally, the team's in-arena game presentation will also feature numerous #LIUB and Autism Awareness facts.
Throughout the night, fans are encouraged to use #Ford4Autism on all of their Twitter posts, as South Florida Ford will generously donate $5 to Autism Speaks each time the hashtag is used.

CATS CLIP OF THE WEEK

The Panthers and the American Special Hockey Association recently teamed up to bring hockey to developmentally disabled children in South Florida.

CATS IN THE COMMUNITY

COLD COFFEE (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

--
The Panthers are helping the Florida Wildlife Federation provide the team's namesake with safe passage throughout their natural habitat in South Florida.
--
Don't miss the final watch party of the season at Funky Buddha on Saturday!
--
Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle credits his teammates for helping him break the franchise record for most power-play points in a season.
--
The Panthers have donated 25 Magic Leap One Creator Editions to local Broward County schools.
--
Panthers prospect Serron Noel is hoping for a big summer after signing his entry-level contract.
--
Newly-signed defenseman Brady Keeper is happy to be a role model to aboriginal youths.
-- In the latest episode of Territory Talk, Doug and Jameson sit down to discuss the signing of Brady Keeper, Aleksander Barkov's pursuit of Pavel Bure, and much more!