The NHL Global Series kicks off as the Dallas Stars play the Florida Panthers in back-to-back games.
The snow gently cascades down from a grayed sky, shrouding the green conifers that dominate the landscape near Tampere, Finland.
Closer into town, the Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers have flown from warm, southern states back in America to play two games in front of Finnish crowds as part of the NHL's Global Series. What initially began as a forecast of overcast skies and chilly temperatures has transformed into the perfect backdrop for hockey, and a picturesque scene that travelling Dallas and Florida residents could only dream of in the beginning of November.
The roads remain clear of the first Finnish snow of the winter, but the snow creeps up the shoulders of the highways from the completely covered fields and trees nearby. Trucks lurk and await any needed plowing to be done before the big game in town. They are used to snow here, and 3-5 inches means nothing but the sign of short days and a long winter ahead.
The Stars and Panthers both come into the game hot enough to melt any snow in their paths, with Florida claiming first place in the Atlantic Division and Dallas only trailing the seemingly unbeatable Winnipeg Jets in the Central Division. Florida has 15 points (7-3-1) in 11 games, while Dallas has 14 (7-2-0) in only nine.
Finnish captain Alexander Barkov returned for the Panthers last game after missing just under three weeks with an injury suffered early in the season. He is one of several Finnish players getting the chance to play in front of friends, family and countrymen that have never before gotten to see their hometown heroes play in person.
Roars will erupt for the multitude of Finns playing for both teams, for Florida: Barkov, Niko Miikola, Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarainen, and for Dallas: Miro Heiskanen, Roope Hintz and Esa Lindell. Dallas has had the Finnish mafia going strong for years now, but have let go of some of that group in the past couple of offseasons. First round draft pick Emil Hemming is a Finn playing in the Canadian junior program this season after playing in the Finnish Liiga last season.
Florida and Dallas were close to meeting for the Stanley Cup Final last season, with Dallas only missing out by two games and the Panthers going on to win the Stanley Cup. These two back-to-back games will be the only meetings between the two teams this regular season.
Last year, Florida won a crazy 5-4 game in Sunrise in December where Dallas trailed and tried to come back multiple times but could never catch the high flying Panthers. Then in March, Dallas held a 3-0 lead and ended up losing 4-3 after a shocking Florida comeback.
So, no matter whether you are watching from the couch of a far warmer place back in the United States or are opening your mouth to catch snowflakes as they fall here in Finland, these two NHL Global Series games are all but guaranteed to bring you hockey entertainment.
Projected lines:
Robertson-Hintz-Stankoven
Marchment-Duchene-Seguin
Benn-Johnston-Dadonov
Steel-Back-Blackwell
Dumba-Heiskanen
Harley-Lybushkin
Lindell-Lundkvist
Oettinger
DeSmith
Puck drop is at 1 p.m. CDT and can be seen on Victory+ locally and NHL Network in out of market areas.
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