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    • Stars meet Panthers For 2 in Finland
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    Stars meet Panthers For 2 in Finland

    Eira Gwyneth Posted on

    In a match that feels as fitting as a well-worn sauna bench, the Dallas Stars bring their “Finnish Mafia” to home ice – Finnish ice.

    As part of the NHL Global Series 2024, the stars will meet the Florida Panthers in Finland on Friday and Saturday at the Nokia Arena in Tampere.

    The Finnish trio of stars Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lindell And Roope Hintzcollectively known as the “Finnish Mafia,” return to their homeland along with the Panthers center Aleksander Barkovwho last season became the first Finnish player to captain a team that won the Stanley Cup. It’s only fitting that these two Finnish teams play across the pond in Finland.

    Both the Stars and the Panthers are off to good starts this season. Dallas has won seven of its first nine games on the road, including a 4-2 win over Chicago on Saturday. The Stars were able to take advantage of the difficult power play and open a 3-0 lead against the Blackhawks before fending off a late attack. The Stars also earned a rare 5-2 win last Thursday in Boston, where they hadn’t won since 2018.

    The defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers have been equally impressive this season, winning four of their last five games and sitting atop the Atlantic Division. The champions managed to win despite Barkov and Barkov being injured at the start of the season Matthew Tkachuk. Both players are expected to play in the Global Series.

    Stars storyline to watch: Of course it has to be the Finnish mafia. Heiskanen had two assists in his last game against the Blackhawks and is now on a two-game point streak after going pointless in the first seven games of the season. He’ll run a power play attack that will likely need to help keep up with the high-powered Panthers. Hintz has four goals and four assists in nine games this season. Add Lindell to the mix and there is no doubt that this trio will be fired up for these two games.

    Dallas Stars lineup

    Jason Robertson (21) – Roope Hintz (24) – Logan Stankoven (11)
    Mason Marchment (27) – Matt Duchene (95) – Tyler Seguin (91)
    Jamie Benn (14) – Wyatt Johnston (53) – Evgenii Dadonov (63)
    Mavrik Bourque (22) – Sam Steel (18) – Colin Blackwell (15)

    Miro Heiskanen (4) – Matt Dumba (3)
    Thomas Harley (55) – Ilya Lyubushkin (46)
    Esa Lindell (23) – Nils Lundqvist (5)

    Jake Oettinger (29)
    Casey DeSmith (1)

    Key stats: Both goalkeepers Jake Oettinger (1.84 GAA) and Casey DeSmith (1.69) are among the top four players in the NHL in goals against average. Note that the duo will probably start separately in Finland. The Stars have allowed the fewest goals (17) in the NHL this season.

    Florida Panthers lineup

    Evan Rodrigues (17) – Aleksander Barkov (16) – Sam Reinhart (13)
    Carter Verhaeghe (23) – Sam Bennett (9) – Matthew Tkachuk (19)
    Eetu Luostarinen (27) – Anton Lundell (15) – Jesper Boqvist (70)
    AJ Greer (10) – Patrick Giles (36) – Mackie Samoskevich (25)

    Gustav Forsling (42) – Aaron Ekblad (5)
    Niko Mikkola (77) – Dmitry Kulikov (7)
    Uvis Balinskis (26) – Nate Schmidt (88)

    Sergei Bobrovsky (72)
    Spencer Knight (30)

    Of all the Finnish players participating in the Global Series, the Panthers are the forwards Anton Lundell might be the one to keep an eye on. Lundell has 12 points in 11 games this season and has stepped up well in the absence of Barkov and Tkachuk due to injuries. Lundell, who signed a six-year contract with the Panthers this summer, has played four multi-point games this season.

    Things to see

    Panthers on the attack

    Florida has one of the best two-line shots in the NHL. Sam Reinhart And Sam Bennett are both top 20 in the NHL in scoring. The Panthers have outscored their opponents 14-6 in their last three road games. Barkov appears to be returning from a lower-body injury earlier in the season that sidelined him for eight games. He added a goal and an assist in his return game Monday in a 5-2 win over Buffalo. Tkachuk continues to do Tkachuk things, including one of the most Matthew Tkachuk-esque goals you’ll see:

    Stars penalty shootout

    Dallas has the top-ranked penalty kill unit in the NHL at 93.1% and has allowed just two PP goals this season. Goaltending and strong puck play have helped this unit, but the Stars haven’t conceded many penalties either this year – just 60 PIM, which is among the fewest in the league. Fewer penalties mean fewer opportunities.

    Matt Duchene

    star center Matt Duchene has had one of his best starts of the season in the first nine games. Duchene, who is in his 18 yearsTh season in the NHL, has 11 points (six goals and five assists) so far this year, including two goals Saturday in the win over Chicago. Duchene has scored five goals in his last four games and was named the NHL’s third star of the week on Monday.

    Here’s how to watch

    Both games will be broadcast on Victory+ and you can hear the radio call on The Ticket. Note the start times for each game: Friday at 1:00 p.m. CDT and Saturday at 11:00 a.m. CDT.

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    Eira Gwyneth
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