TAMPERE, Finland – The Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers believe they can each make a bold statement in Game 1 of the 2024 NHL Global Series presented by Fastenal at Nokia Arena on Friday (2 p.m. ET; Victory+, SCRIPPS, NHLN, SN).

All ingredients are there.

The Panthers (7-3-1) are the reigning Stanley Cup champions. The Dallas Stars (7-2-0) have been in the Western Conference finals each of the last two seasons.

Each team remains among the league’s elite this season and is blessed with star players, many of whom have a connection to Finland.

Striker Roope Hintz and defenders Esa Lindell and Miro Heiskanen are the Finnish players playing for the Stars. Strikers Aleksander Barkov, Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen and defender Niko Mikkola are the Finnish players in the Panthers’ squad. Tuomo Ruutu, another Finn, is an assistant at Florida.

Dallas defenseman Mathew Dumba has been watching his Finnish teammates closely this week and is amazed at the influence they have here. He knows that these two games are important to them and therefore they are important to the rest of the Stars too.

“I know they are very proud boys and want to represent Finland well,” said Dumba. “They do great work with us every day abroad, but to be back home and do this where you grew up must be special. I think it’s huge.”

Dallas coach Pete DeBoer felt that in his group and believes the bonding exercises conducted over the last four days helped the team realize how important hockey is here and how proud the Finnish players are of their country and culture are.

“You can’t replicate the excitement (of the Finns),” DeBoer said. “And I think that because of the special nature of these guys as people and teammates, our group is excited for them and because of them. They want to put on a show and take whatever they want to show us and make it special for them. The reaction of our boys shows how important they are to our group. They want to play well for Roope in front of his people.”

Hintz, 27, is from nearby Nokia and played for local club Ilves before heading to North America. Barkov, 29, is from Tampere and played for Tappara, the city’s other first division team, before joining the Panthers a decade ago.

Each game center and it is likely that they will compete against each other over several shifts.

The significance of that statement blew DeBoer away.

“I’m amazed at the fact that there are two elite centerman from the same (area) – and it’s not a big city – in Roope Hintz and Barkov,” he said. “Two of the best, I don’t know, 15 or 20 centers in the world come from the same hometown and are in the same age group or age group. It’s incredible when you get up here and see that it’s not really a big city and you’re a long way from Helsinki.

“It’s a great story.”

DeBoer and Panthers coach Paul Maurice played together with Windsor in the Ontario Hockey League 40 years ago. Maurice gave DeBoer his first coaching job and they have remained close friends.

“We started our career together almost by accident,” says Maurice, and the surprise can be heard in his voice. “We had no idea what we were doing and ended up in the National League.”

Not just in the league, but every head coach of a team in a small group favored winning the Stanley Cup.

Every team and every coach are made for such games.

“Just more excitement,” Dallas captain Jamie Benn said when asked about the Panthers. “I think whenever you play at home against the defending Stanley Cup champions, you’re obviously excited and ready for the game. Tomorrow night and Saturday we will be the same. We will do our best to win these two games and it will be pretty exciting.”

Maurice says his team played its best this season in games against teams it faced in the postseason: 2-0-0 against the Boston Bruins, whom it defeated in the second round of the Eastern Conference last season, and the Boston Bruins beat the New York Rangers 1-0-0, defeating them in the Eastern Conference finals.

“There’s an understandable rivalry built into this game (with a previous playoff opponent) so you can reach your emotional level,” he said.

But Maurice is confident his team will be on top in both Friday and Game 2 on Saturday (noon ET; Victory+, SCRIPPS, NHLN, SN1).

“We have a lot of respect for Dallas, even though we haven’t played them in a playoff series yet,” he said. “Our challenge this year has been to reach the emotional level we need to play our game against any team. That’s what we’re working on and what we’re talking about.”

The storylines are thick and meaningful. The star power is undeniable. The connection to the masses is unbreakable.

“Should be a great game,” DeBoer said with a smile.