Panthers Hit Finland

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — For the next few days, the Florida Panthers will have the chance to enjoy some salmon soup whenever they’d like. Chocolates will be consumed. Sauna visits are encouraged. There’s talk of jumping into a lake.

And sometimes, they’ll play hockey.

The Stanley Cup champions landed in Finland — the homeland of captain Aleksander Barkov and three other Panthers — on Tuesday. They’ll play two games there against the Dallas Stars later this week, but the first few hours after the flight landed was mostly about getting settled and sampling delicacies.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Barkov said after the team landed.

The Panthers landed in Helsinki, where they’ll remain until later in the week when they shift to Tampere — Barkov’s hometown — for the games Friday and Saturday against the Stars, a team with three Finns of their own on the roster.

Besides Barkov, Florida’s Finnish contingent includes Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen and Niko Mikkola. Dallas has Miro Heiskanen, Roope Hintz and Esa Lindell.

“I’m very excited to be able to play for the Panthers in my home country,” Lundell said. “It’s going to be very, very special. It’s probably a week that I’ll remember forever, along with my family and all my friends. And all the Finnish boys and girls growing up playing hockey today, hopefully they get some more motivation to try to get better and try to be professional hockey players.”

A few years ago, Lundell actually was that kid.

He was in Helsinki, sitting in the stands, six years ago when the Panthers played the Winnipeg Jets in a two-game series. Still has the pictures that he took from the stands on his cell phone, even. Lundell got drafted by the Panthers two years later.

“I get chills when I think about getting to play there,” Lundell said. “The timing couldn’t be any better.”

The Panthers and Jets split those two Finland games in 2018, each winning by 4-2 scores. Winnipeg’s coach at the time was Paul Maurice — who now is Florida’s coach.

Maurice said the games being played in Barkov’s hometown, in an arena that houses a team that the Panthers star owns, is significant. So, obviously, is the fact that Barkov became the first Finnish captain to get the honor of accepting the Stanley Cup after the title was won. And Maurice took note of the joy the Finnish Panthers had in July when they brought the Cup to their homeland — and were celebrated by, among others, Finland President Alexander Stubb.

“It’s a really meaningful trip for these four guys,” Maurice said. “It’s not just a couple of guys coming back who happen to play in the NHL. It’s coming off the year we did and they are prominent on our team. I think one of the things that our players do well, they celebrate each other’s successes. They really cheer for each other. And that will be the story for us. We get to go home with four of our really important players and celebrate their nationality and their success.”

Maurice doesn’t know any Finnish words or phrases. He thinks he might have to learn, for the simple fact that he’s worried about what Mikkola is often saying to him.

“I’m pretty sure he’s swearing at me when he comes to the bench,” Maurice said. “It may not always be me. I’m pretty sure he’s swearing. Nobody’s really sure but the other Finnish guys are laughing.”

Barkov got hurt early in the season, and shortly after the lower-body injury happened doctors said it was possible that he could return in time for the games in Finland.

He made his return to the Florida lineup Monday night against Buffalo, getting a pair of points in the Panthers’ 5-2 win. The 7 1/2-hour flight to Helsinki followed, and Barkov isn’t making any secret about how much these next two games matter to him.

“I’ve been thinking about them all the time, obviously ever since they got announced and waiting for this this day, actually to travel there and go home again,” Barkov said. “I was there once in Helsinki. We played two games. But this is going to be even more special. It’s in my hometown and the rink where my team plays. So, it’s going to be a one-of-a-kind experience, for sure.”