The Florida Panthers (8-3-1) will go for the lakaista when they face the Dallas Stars (7-3) this afternoon (our time) in the second game of the 2024 Global Series Finland presented by Fastenal at Nokia Arena in Tampere.
Hometown hero Aleksander Barkov was named First Star after scoring a goal and collecting three assists as the Cats never trailed in yesterday’s 6-4 win. Sam Reinhart, who scored twice and picked up a helper, is now tied for second in NHL scoring with 19 points. Evan Rodrigues scored the fastest game-opening goal (28 seconds) in a game held outside North America in NHL history, surpassing Detroit’s Tomas Holmstrom by three seconds. Two of Florida’s other Finns, Anton Lundell (goal) and Niko Mikkola (assist), also got on the score sheet. Eetu Luostarinen was credited with two shots and two blocks.
The Stars got a goal and an assist from Finnish defenseman Esa Lindell. Roope Hintz (3 shots) and Miro Heiskanen (2 shots) did not figure in the scoring. Rookie Mavrik Bourque notched his first NHL goal late in the third period before Jamie Benn lit the lamp with 34 seconds left to complete scoring. Tyler Seguin scored the first Dallas goal. After starting the season with four straight wins, the Stars are now 3-3 over the last six games.
- WHEN: 12 p.m. ET
- WHERE: Nokia Arena – Tampere, Finland
- ON THE TUBE: NHL Network, Scripps, Victory+
- ON THE DIAL: 96.5 WPOW-FM HD2 (D/B), 1230 The Gambler (PB), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
- SOCIALS: #TimeToHunt, #TexasHockey, #DALvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Defending Big D
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 2 of 2 (1-0)
- LAST MEETING: FLA 6, @DAL 4 (Recap) – 11/1/2024
- NEXT MEETING: Stanley Cup Final or 2025-26 season
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Florida: Knight (2-1-0 .898 / 3.03 0SO) Dallas: DeSmith (2-1-0 .936 / 1.69 0SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Dallas
Saturday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances)
- BOSTON (4-6-1 9P) at Philadelphia (4-6-1 9P) 1 p.m.
- Seattle (5-5-1 11P) at OTTAWA (5-5-0 10P) 7 p.m.
- BUFFALO (4-6-1 9P) at DETROIT (4-5-1 9P) 7 p.m.
- MONTREAL (4-6-1 9P) at Pittsburgh (4-7-1 9P) 7 p.m.
- TORONTO (6-4-1 13P) at St. Louis (5-6-0 10P) 8 p.m.
Idle: TBL (14P)