TAMPERE – Talk about coming home.

On the ice in his hometown of Tampere, Finland, captain Aleksander Barkov will lead the Florida Panthers against the Dallas Stars in Game 1 of the 2024 Global Series at Nokia Arena on Friday at 2 p.m. ET.

First half of a second straight Global Series game will take place Saturday at 12 p.m. ET.

“It’s really hard to describe how great it is to be able to be here right now,” said Barkov, who is also a minority owner of his former Liiga club Tampere, Tappara. “That’s so sweet. I don’t even know if I can realize how special this is. I will try to enjoy it as much as possible. Obviously we have two tough, tough games ahead of us, which is even better.

In addition to Barkov, the Panthers’ three other Finnish players – Anton Lundell, Niko Mikkola and Eetu Luostarinen – are also looking forward to playing an NHL game in their home country.

“It’s going to be exciting, that’s for sure,” said Mikkola, whose hometown of Oulu is about a six-hour drive north of Tampere. “Playing in front of my friends and family is a special night for me. I’m very excited.

Winning each of their last five road games while outscoring the opposition 22-12, the Panthers enter the World Series ranked first in the Atlantic Division with a 7-3-1 record.

Leaving North America on a high note, they completed an impressive three-game series in New York State with a 5-2 victory in Buffalo in their final outing on Tuesday.

Returning to the lineup after missing eight games due to injury, Barkov had a goal and an assist against the Sabres, while Sam Bennett scored to extend his goal streak to five games.

Registering a goal and an assist, Carter Verhaeghe saw his point streak reach seven games.

Move into a tie with Chris Osgood for 13^th on the NHL’s all-time wins list with his 401^st career victory, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 26 of 28 shots to improve his record to 5-2-1.

After another strong start, Sam Reinhart leads the Panthers with 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) and has been on the scoresheet in nine of 11 games to start the season. Bennett ranks first in goals (8) and tied with Lundell for second in points (12).

After suffering an injury in the preseason, Tomas Nosek, who signed a one-year contract during the offseason, will return to the lineup and make his regular season debut for Florida.

Playing on the fourth line, he won 51.9% of his faceoffs with New Jersey in 2023-24.

“I can’t wait for tonight,” said Nosek, a veteran of 434 career NHL games. “I can’t wait to finally play a game with them and see how it goes on the ice with the Stanley Cup champions.”

Just like the Panthers, the Stars got off to a good start.

Ranked second in the Central Division with a 7-2-0 record, the Stars have won each of their last two games, including a 4-2 victory over Chicago in their last outing on Sunday.

Leading the charge against the Blackhawks, Matt Duchene scored two goals, while Miro Heiskanen, one of the team’s best Finns, dished out two assists. Between the pipes, Jake Oettinger, who will likely get the nod against Florida, stopped 22 of 24 shots.

Duchene leads Dallas in goals (6) and points (11). Not far behind, 21-year-old rookie Logan Stankoven had nine points (one goal, eight assists), while Tyler Seguin, Roope Hintz (another Finn on the team) and Mason Marchment each had eight points.

Florida was 2-0-0 against Dallas in 2023-24.

“We had a good practice yesterday and we practiced,” said defender Gustav Forsling. “We feel ready. It was a good mental break for a few days, but we’re excited to play tonight.

THEY SAID IT

“It’s been great. We had a few days off, which was fun being able to visit Helsinki. Now we are here (in Tampere) and we are preparing to turn the page and prepare for Barky to show his hometown and play two big matches. – Matthew Tkachuk

“We have been spoiled by these Finns in recent days. It was quite fun. Saunas are a little different. It’s nice to see photos of Barky scattered all over the rooms. It was a cool experience. –Sam Reinhart

“When we knew we were going to come here, we were planning a little bit and talking about what we were going to do. Anton and Barky mainly take care of the towns where they come from. I didn’t have to stress about it. –Niko Mikkola

“(Tomas Nosek is) a veteran, very strong on faceoffs. It changes the way I can run the bench. – Paul-Maurice

FIVE CATS STATS

– Aleksander Barkov has 24 points (15G, 9A) in 21 career games against Dallas.

– The Panthers are second in the NHL in hits (313).

– Between the Panthers and the Stars, seven skaters in tonight’s competition are Finnish.

– Niko Mikkola leads the Panthers in blocked shots (20).

– Carter Verhaeghe leads the Panthers in shots on goal (45).

PROJECTED RANGE (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

Attackers

Evan Rodrigues – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart

Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk

Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Jesper Boqvist

AJ Greer – Tomas Nosek – Mackie Samoskevich

Defenders

Gustav Forsling-Aaron Ekblad

Niko Mikkola – Dmitri Kulikov

Nate Schmidt – Uvis Balinskis

Goalkeepers

Sergei Bobrovsky

Spencer Knight

RECENT OPERATIONS:

– October 25: Singed F Hunter St. Martin for entry-level contract

– October 11: F Patrick Giles recalled to Florida

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN

When: Friday, November 1 at 2 p.m. ET

Or: Nokia Arena – Tampere, Finland

Television and streaming: Panthers+, WSFL-TV, WHDT, WFTX, NHL Network (out of market)

Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 12:30 p.m. WBZT-AM (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); Panthers application; SiriusXM app and 931 streaming

Cats at your fingertips: Click to see participating bars and restaurants