Games in Finland take Barkov home
Florida, Winnipeg off to Helsinki
Save the date: The Florida Panthers are going to Finland.
As part of the NHL’s Global Series, the Panthers will play the Winnipeg Jets in Helsinki on Nov. 1 and 2 at Hartwall Arena, the league announced Tuesday morning. The league had announced the Finland matchups during its AllStar weekend in January, but did not disclose dates or locations.
Both games will start at 8 p.m. in Helsinki — 2 p.m. in South Florida. Tickets go on sale at 3 a.m. Monday at livenation.fi.
The two games will be a homecoming of sorts for Panthers star center Aleksander Barkov, who was born in Tampere, about 110 miles from Helsinki. Barkov will play against countryman, friend and Jets forward Patrik Laine.
“That’s awesome news for me, especially,” Barkov said after the announcement in January. “I heard some rumors before, but I just wasn’t sure and I didn’t want to say that to anybody because I was just hoping that it’s going to happen. Now, it’s for sure. It’s going to be probably one of my favorite moments in my hockey career.”
Barkov might not be the only Finnish Panthers player next season.
Forward prospect Henrik Borgstrom, born in Helsinki and currently at the University of Denver, could be with the team. Forward Henrik Haapala played five games for the Panthers this season but decided to finish the year for Tappara, his old team in Finland. Juho Lammikko (with AHL affiliate Springfield), Sebastian Repo (Tappara) and Aleksi Heponiemi (WHL’s Swift Current Broncos) are other Finns in the Panthers’ system.
It will be the Panthers’ second trip to Hartwall Arena. In 2009, the Panthers split a pair of games against the Chicago Blackhawks there. Those were the NHL’s first two regular-season games played in Finland.
Global Series schedule (all times EDT):
*Oct. 1: New Jersey Devils vs. SC Bern, 1:30 p.m., PostFinance Arena, Bern, Switzerland.
*Oct. 3: Edmonton Oilers vs. Kolner Haie, 10 a.m., Lanxess Arena, Cologne, Germany.
Oct. 6: Edmonton Oilers vs. New Jersey Devils, 1 p.m., Scandinavium, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Nov. 1: Florida Panthers vs. Winnipeg Jets, 2 p.m., Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland.
Nov. 2: Florida Panthers vs. Winnipeg Jets, 2 p.m., Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland.
*exhibition games