Back In Their Home Country, Barkov and Lundell Score in Win

It was something out of a movie. Five months removed from becoming the first Finnish captain to win the Stanley Cup, Aleksander Barkov and his Florida Panthers went to his hometown of Tampere to play in NHL’s Global Series.

Barkov, along with the other three Florida Finns – Niko Mikkola, Eetu Luostarinen, and Anton Lundell – were penciled into the starting lineups. They all got cheers from the crowd at Nokia Arena, with Barkov receiving the loudest of the ovations.

It didn’t take long for the captain to get on the scoresheet. He got the secondary assist when an Aaron Ekblad wrister from the blue line was deflected by Evan Rodrigues into the net 28 seconds into the game. It was a cool moment for the 29-year-old center, who served as the team’s tour guide for the last few days. 

The 13,000-seat arena was already buzzing. The hometown kid was home.

And then, he scored.

Dashing down the ice off a Dallas turnover, Barkov received a pass in the slot from Sam Reinhart. Barkov fired a wrister past Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger. Barkov flashed a rare smile in the celly as he was mobbed by his linemates. 

“He’s a special man,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. “He’s a special person. Everybody is cheering for him.”

King of Tampere 👑 pic.twitter.com/JDOkXRN93D

— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) November 1, 2024

Anton Lundell, dubbed as “baby Barkov” by some, scored late in the first period. The fellow Finnish center, six years younger than Barkov, tipped in a shot from Ekblad on the power play.

“Super special game for me, probably for everybody, but especially for us Finns,” Lundell said. “Would lie if I said I wasn’t nervous before the game. Just to be able to get the game going and just forget about everything.”

Barkov and Lundell combined for five points Friday, with Barkov notching three assists.

Rodrigues, Reinhart and Mackie Samoskevich also scored.

Reinhart’s goal was shorthanded. His three shorties lead the NHL, and his nine goals are second in the league.

The final score doesn’t do justice how much the Panthers controlled the game. They led 6-2 with less than five minutes to go in the game. 

Sergei Bobrovsky’s final line was also not a good indication of how well he played. He stopped 32 of 36 shots he faced, and held Dallas off the board in their three power plays. On the first Florida penalty kill of the game, Bobrovsky stopped all four high-danger shots the Stars sent his way.

It was also Tomas Nosek’s first game as a Florida Panther. The 32-year-old forward signed a one-year contract with Florida over the summer, but was injured after being hit into the boards in their first preseason game.

He centered the fourth line with A.J. Greer and Samoskevich on Friday and got some time on the penalty kill. In 11 minutes of ice time, he registered a +1 on the plus-minus scale and won 55 percent of his faceoffs.