Cats & Coffee – Cats Clash at Worlds

Good morning and welcome to “Cats & Coffee,” a weekly segment in which we get you caffeinated with an exciting look at the week ahead for the Florida Panthers. The undefeated run for at least one of the Florida Panthers players participating at the 2016 IIHF World Championship in Russia will unfortunately be coming to an end this week. In the final matchup of the tournament’s preliminary round, Finland, which features Panthers forwards Jussi Jokinen and Aleksander Barkov, will face also-unbeaten Canada, which features Panthers defenseman Mike Matheson, in a showdown for first place in Group B at the Yubileyny Sports Palace in St. Petersburg on Tuesday. After shaking off a slow start offensively, the 20-year-old Barkov currently ranks fifth in tournament scoring with nine points (3-6—9), including a goal and two assists in Finland’s 5-0 win over Slovakia on Sunday. Jokinen, meanwhile, is tied for the tournament lead in assists (7) and scored his first goal of the tournament in Sunday’s victory. Not to be outdone by his Panthers teammates, Matheson has also been making a name for himself in the early goings of the tournament as a surprising standout on Canada’s traditionally star-studded blue line. The smooth-skating 23-year-old …

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