Cats & Coffee: Panthers Visit Columbus; Territory Membership Renewals

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.

As we start to approach the halfway point of the season, the Florida Panthers are still sitting pretty.
Despite having their point streak snapped at five games with a 4-2 loss at Carolina on Sunday, the Cats enter this week sitting in third place in Central Division with a stellar record of 15-5-4.
Also off to an 8-2-1 start on the road, the team will look to remain hot away from home when they wrap up their five-game road trip this week with two games at Columbus on Tuesday and Thursday. After that, they'll travel back south to Sunrise to host the Blackhawks on Saturday.
Jonathan Huberdeau leads Florida in both goals (10) and points (29), while Aaron Ekblad paces the club's defensemen with 17 points (nine goals, eight assists). In between the pipes, Sergei Bobrovsky has also been hot, going 3-0-1 with a .920 save percentage over his last four starts.
"When we play the right way, we're a good team," forward Patric Hornqvist said last week.
In addition to their place in the standings, the Panthers currently rank sixth in the league on offense (3.29 goals per game) and tied for 13th on defense (2.83 goals allowed per game).
Here's everything you need to know for the week ahead…

THE GAMES

Tuesday and Thursday: at Columbus Blue Jackets, 7 p.m. ET
Facing off for the first time in more than a month, the Panthers will wrap up their road trip with two games against the Blue Jackets (10-11-5) at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday and Thursday. Entering this week, Columbus has dropped six of its last eight games, including a 5-0 loss at Dallas on Saturday. During that eight-game stretch, they've averaged just two goals per game. Cam Atkinson leads the team in both goals (10) and points (19), while Oliver Bjorkstrand has the most assists (11). Over his last 13 games, Atkinson has netted eight goals. As for the Cats, look for Aleksander Barkov continue cracking the scoresheet in these matchups. Riding a six-game point streak in which he's registered one goal and seven assists, the Panthers captain is currently second on the team in scoring with 27 points (eight goals, 19 assists) this season. In 18 career games against the Blue Jackets, he's posted six goals and seven assists. Splitting their season series up until this point, Florida defeated Columbus 4-3 in a shootout on Jan. 26 before going on to then lose 3-2 by way of the skills competition just two days later on Jan. 28.
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 STREAMING CH. 932
Saturday: Chicago Blackhawks, 7 p.m. ET
The Panthers will don their "Reverse Retro" jerseys once again when they kick off a four-game homestand against the Blackhawks (13-8-5) at BB&T Center on Saturday. Since dropping their first four games of the season to Tampa Bay and Florida, Chicago has been playing some great hockey. Entering this week occupying fourth place in the Central Division, the Blackhawks have won 10 of their last 15 games, including a 4-3 shootout win over the Lightning on Friday. In the running for the Hart Trophy, Patrick Kane leads the team in scoring with 38 points (11 goals, 27 assists). On quite the tear, he's notched six goals and 21 assists over his last 15 games alone. Also lending a hand on offense, Alex DeBrincat has recorded a team-leading 14 goals in just 22 games. For the Panthers, look for Aaron Ekblad to play an integral role in not only trying to shut down that duo, but also chip in some offense of his own. In addition to leading all NHL blueliners in goals (9), he also sees a team-high 25:10 of ice time per game, including 2:27 shorthanded.
TV:FOX Sports Florida, ESPN+
Radio: 560 WQAM (DADE/BROWARD); 640 WMEN (PALM BEACH); 100.3 WCTH (FLORIDA KEYS); 107.9 FM/1370 AM WZTA (TREASURE COAST) SIRIUSXM CH. 223/STREAMING CH. 932
Tickets:
HERE

MILESTONE WATCH

Radko Gudas is three assists away from his 100th NHL assist.
Brett Connolly is one goal away from his 100th NHL goal.
MacKenzie Weegar is four games away from his 200th NHL game.

TERRITORY MEMBERSHIPS

It's never too early to start looking ahead.
Last week, the Panthers announced that Territory Memberships for the 2021-22 campaign will be available for purchase beginning early next month. Among the various great perks, Territory Members are set to receive access, savings and experiences throughout all of the next season.
"Through these unprecedented times this past year, we appreciate all of our Territory Members and their dedication to Panthers hockey now more than ever," Chief Commercial Officer Shawn Thornton said in a release. "From re-opening our doors safely this season, to enhancing the fan experience with mobile ordering and more, we look forward to welcoming back long-time fans and new Territory Members to the Panthers family."
To learn more about the access, savings and experiences of being a Territory Member, visit
FloridaPanthers.com/Memberships
. Additionally, current Territory Members can renew their plans by March 31 to earn up to 6% CATS CA$H and be entered to win some sweet prizes.
Those prizes include:
• Sunday, March 14 - (1) 15-Person Catered Suite to a 2021-22 Panthers Home Game
• Sunday, March 21 - 2-Night Staycation at The Dalmar in Fort Lauderdale
• Sunday, March 28 - 70" LG 4K TV
• Thursday, April 1 - Florida Panthers Away game Experience (Airfare, 2-Night Stay at the XV Beacon Hotel in Boston, MA and 2 Game Tickets - Date TBD)
For more information on renewing, please visit
FloridaPanthers.com/Renewals
.

FLOW FOR DAYS

Who has the best hair in Panthers history?
Vote now in the "Best Flow Contest," presented by HairClub.
To cast your vote, click
HERE
.

PROSPECT SPOTLIGHT

John Ludvig has gotten off to a nice start in Syracuse.
In the midst of his first professional season, the 20-year-old defenseman is tied for the team-scoring lead with five points (one goal, four assists) through nine games. On March 1, Ludvig also tallied the first goal of his AHL career to help lift the Crunch to a 4-3 win over Rochester.

Taken by the Panthers in the third round (69th overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft, Ludvig's offensive output shouldn't come as a surprise. After all, he's not far removed from finishing third among WHL blueliners in points (62) and fourth in goals (17) during his final junior season in 2019-20.
That same year, Ludvig captained Portland to the best record in the WHL.

CATS CLIP OF THE WEEK

CATS IN THE COMMUNITY

TERRITORY TALK

On the latest episode of the Territory Talk podcast, NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen joined the show to share his thoughts on the Panthers and where they fit in the Central Division right now.

COLD COFFEE (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

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Check out the latest mailbag from Panthers radio play-by-play man Doug Plagens.
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When Noel Acciari gets hot, he scores he bunches
.
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Keith Yandle suited up in his 1,000th NHL game on Sunday in Raleigh.
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There's some magic - literally and figuratively - going on with the Panthers this season.
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Aaron Ekblad matched a franchise record last week in Nashville
.
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Mason Marchment had never had anything like this happen to him in a game before.
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Looking to come to a game? The Feltman's Value Back is both a great deal and delicious!
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It was "Tua Time" at BB&T Center last week.
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The Panthers have inked Logan Hutsko to a two-year, entry-level contract.