NHL Global Series: Stars and Panthers give fans a possible Stanley Cup preview
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
This past weekend, the Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars faced off in Tampere, Finland, for the National Hockey League (NHL) Global Series. The Panthers and Stars have made the playoffs for the past couple of seasons, and both are going well. In this series, however, the reigning Stanley Cup Champions, the Florida Panthers, swept the powerhouse Dallas Stars.
Starting Friday, Nov. 1, the Panthers took a 6-4 win over the Stars in the series' first game. Seven players from the Panthers’ roster are Finland-born, but one stands out as the catalyst for the win: center Aleksander Barkov had one goal and three assists, totaling four points in just game one; center Sam Reinhart had two goals and one assist; defenceman Aaron Ekblad had three assists, and center Evan Rodrigues had a goal and an assist.
The Global Series showcased how good the Panthers roster is, with no notable names going radio silent during the first game. We already knew how talented goalkeeper Sergei Bobrovsky was —and with his 32 saves on Friday— he made a great argument as a Vezina Trophy candidate. While the Stars did get swept, they still proved to be a playoff team. Rookie center Mavrik Borque scored his first NHL goal, and center Matt Duchene and defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin each had two assists.
One of the best storylines in the series is that both teams started their Finland-born players. For the Panthers, centers Barkov, Anton Lundell, and Eetu Luostarinen were at forward, and Niko Mikkola was on the blue line. For the Stars, it was center Roope Hintz from the Tampere suburb of Nokia and defensemen Esa Lindell and Miro Heiskanen. Two icons of Finnish hockey, Jere Lehtinen and Teppo Numminen, who played for the Stars, shared the ceremonial puck drop as well— to serve as the “cherry on top” of this game’s Finnish line-up.
The Panthers completed their two-game sweep in the Global Series on Saturday, Nov. 2, with a 4-2 win. Reinhart, Rodrigues, and left-wing Matthew Tkachuk scored a goal for Florida, and left-wing AJ Greer had his first goal as a Panther. Another notable statistic for the Panthers was Reinhart holding the franchise record for more points than any Florida player through 13 games of a season. Stars coach Pete DeBoer was disappointed with his team’s performance in the first period of Friday’s game, where Florida took 2-0 and 3-1 leads. On Saturday, the Stars looked to be the better team in the first 20 minutes, outshooting Florida 9-7 and generating more scoring chances. It proved, ultimately, not enough to win against the top team in the league.
Ultimately, the Florida Panthers showcased their depth and skill, coming away with two hard-earned wins that underscored their status as reigning champions. For the Dallas Stars, the series was a reminder of the areas they need to tighten to make another deep playoff push. Beyond the scoresheet, the games highlighted the bond between Finland and the NHL— with fans rallying behind their homegrown stars and connecting fans across different nations.