Cats & Coffee: Panthers Head Home; Blood Drive at BB&T

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 will wrap up their current five-game road trip in Toronto on Tuesday night before turning their playoff push into high gear at home with 11 of 12 games at BB&T Center.

The Panthers (26-24-6) have won seven of its last nine games and are 3-1-0 on their current trip after a 7-2 loss to the high-flying Winnipeg Jets on Sunday night.
"If you look at the big picture, we've got one game left before we go home," Panthers coach Bob Boughner said. "If we can find a way to get two points in Toronto and get four out of five [on the road], we'd take that any day before the trip started."
With 26 games left to play in the regular season, the Panthers have clawed their way back into the playoff picture in recent weeks, sitting six points behind the New York Islanders for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with four games in hand.
"I think our confidence is high," Panthers defenseman Mike Matheson said. "Obviously, that comes with the territory of winning games. I think earlier on in the year we were down on ourselves a little bit and we'd get down in games and not be too assertive with our play. I think the past few games we've gone into the games expecting to win, not hoping to win."
Here's everything you need to know for the week ahead…

THE GAMES

Tuesday: at Toronto Maple Leafs, 7 p.m.
The Panthers will attempt to end their five-game road trip on a high note when they visit the Maple Leafs (36-20-5) at Air Canada Centre on Tuesday. Toronto has won 10 out of its last 12 games, including a 3-2 victory in Detroit on Sunday. The Leafs have scored four or more goals in seven of their past 11 games, which has helped elevate their offense to sixth in the league (3.26 goals per game). Of their young stars, few have been hotter as of late than forward Mitch Marner, who has eight points (3-5-8) in his past five games. For the Panthers, look for Roberto Luongo to take his place between the pipes after resting up on Sunday. The 38-year-old veteran has already played one game since coming off a two-month stint on the injured reserve list, stopping 30 of 33 shots during Saturday's win in Calgary.
Panthers vs. Maple Leafs: 1-0-0
TV: FSF
Radio: 560 WQAM (DADE/BROWARD); 640 WMEN (PALM BEACH); 100.3 WCTH (FLORIDA KEYS); 1370 WAXE (TREASURE COAST)
Thursday: Washington Capitals, 7:30 p.m.
The Panthers will kick off a six-game homestand with a matchup against the Capitals (33-18-7) at BB&T Center on Thursday. Washington has lost three of its last four games, including a lopsided 7-1 defeat at the hands of the Blackhawks on Saturday in Chicago. Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin has 12 points (4-8-12) in his past eight games, including two goals and five assists in the past four. This will be the final regular-season meeting between Washington and Florida, with the two clubs splitting the series thus far. The Panthers defeated the Capitals 4-1 on Oct. 21, with Evgenii Dadonov scoring the game-winning goal. In this rubber match, look for Dadonov to find his way onto the scoresheet again, as the 28-year-winger has tallied four goals and two assists over the last four games.
Panthers vs. Capitals: 1-1-0
TV: FSF
Radio: 560 WQAM (DADE/BROWARD); 640 WMEN (PALM BEACH); 100.3 WCTH (FLORIDA KEYS); 1370 WAXE (TREASURE COAST)
Saturday: Pittsburgh Penguins, 7 p.m.
The Panthers will face their toughest test during an already difficult the week when they host the Penguins (35-22-4) at BB&T Center on Saturday. Pittsburgh enters the week red hot, riding a five-game winning streak that has propelled the team into first place in the Metropolitan Division. The Penguins have scored four-or-more goals in four of five games during the streak, including a 5-2 win over the Blue Jackets on Sunday. The Panthers have already dropped a pair of games to Pittsburgh this season, both 4-3 defeats. In their third and final meeting, look for Florida to continue getting production from its surging power play. Since Feb. 1, the Panthers are operating at the best rate in the NHL on the man advantage, going 12-for-32 (37.5 percent) over the last eight games.
Panthers vs. Penguins: 0-2-0
TV: FSF
Radio: 560 WQAM (DADE/BROWARD); 640 WMEN (PALM BEACH); 100.3 WCTH (FLORIDA KEYS); 1370 WAXE (TREASURE COAST)

MILESTONE WATCH

• Keith Yandle is one game away from his 800th NHL game.
  - Aleksander Barkov is seven goals away from his 100th NHL goal.
  - Vincent Trocheck is 10 points away from his 200th NHL point.

BLACK HERITAGE NIGHT

The Panthers are spreading a message of diversity and inclusion throughout the month of February as part of the NHL and NHLPA's league-wide Hockey Is For Everyone initiative.
On Thursday, the Panthers will host Black Heritage Night when the Washington Capitals visit BB&T Center, honoring players of color including Willie O'Ree, who broke the NHL's color barrier on Jan. 18, 1958.
Tickets can be purchased HERE using promo code: BHN.

BLOOD DRIVE

The Panthers are teaming up with OneBlood and JetBlue to host a blood drive Thursday to help the victims of last week's shooting that occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
The blood drive will take place at BB&T Center from noon until 7 p.m. before Florida's game against the Washington Capitals, the first home game for the Panthers since the shooting.
"It's a community in mourning," defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. "We respect that. I think we can't wait to get home and do what we can to help."
Fans attending the game can also donate through the end of the second intermission.

SUITE SWEEPSTAKES

Want to live the suite life? You can win 16 suite tickets to watch the Panthers battle the Nashville Predators at BB&T Center on Tuesday, April 3 by entering the Community Coffee "Score a Suite Sweepstakes" from now until Feb. 28. You can learn more and enter to win HERE.

CATS IN THE COMMUNITY

COLD COFFEE (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT)

• The Panthers will play a pair of regular-season games in Finland next season.
  As you'd expect, Aleksander Barkov is pretty darn excited about that
  .
  - What makes Aleksander Barkov so good?
  NHL.com's Nick Cotsonika sat down with Panthers head coach Bob Boughner in the film room to find out
  .
  - After a two-month absence,
  Roberto Luongo picked up a win in his return to Florida's net
  .
  - The Panthers recently
  signed Colton Sceviour to a three-year extensio
  n. "I've enjoyed my time here," he said. "There's also definitely some comfort. I saw what this team is capable of and the direction that we're heading."