It was a special weekend in the National Hockey League, as the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers played the reigning Western Conference finalists Dallas Stars at Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland on Friday and Saturday. The Panthers, who are winners of five straight games, beat the Stars 6-4 on Friday, and 4-2 on Saturday.
Barkov had a chance to play
The Panthers were led offensively on Friday by Alekasander Barkov, who hails from Tampere, Finland. Barkov had one goal and three assists for four points. This was a very special weekend for Barkov, who had the opportunity to play two NHL regular season games in his hometown of Tampere for the first time. However, Barkov’s time playing for the Panthers in Tampere almost did not happen as he had a lower body injury earlier in the season that forced him to miss eight games. Barkov did return to the Panthers’ lineup a week ago against the Buffalo Sabres, and had one goal and one assist for two points in a 5-2 Panthers win.
Barkov was one of four Panthers with a multi-point game on Friday. The others were centre Sam Reinhart of West Vancouver, British Columbia (two goad and one assist for three points), defenseman Aaron Ekblad of Windsor, Ontario (three assists), and centre Evan Rodrigues of Toronto, Ontario (one goal and one assist for two points). The other Panthers’s goal scorers were Anton Lundell of Espoo, Finland, and Mackie Samoskevich of Newtown, Connecticut. For Samoskevich, it was only his second NHL goal. The first came in a 6-3 Panthers win over the New York Islanders on October 26.
Saturday’s win
In the 4-2 Panthers win over the Stars, Reinhart led the Panthers with two points (one goal and one assist). The other three Panthers players with goals were Rodrigues, left winger A.J. Greer of Joliette, Quebec, who scored his first goal with Florida, and Matthew Tkachuk of Scottsdale, Arizona. The Panthers now have the most points in the East with 19. They have a record of nine wins, three regulation losses and one loss in extra time.
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