Aleksander Barkov Puts On Show in Tampere Homecoming, Leads Panthers to Win

Aleksander Barkov put up a goal and three points in his Tampere, Finland homecoming in a 6-4 win over the Dallas Stars.

Aleksander Barkov wasted no time putting on a show for his hometown fans in Tampere, Finland.

Just 20 seconds into Game 1 of the two-game set between the Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars, Barkov picked up a secondary assist on an Evan Rodrigues goal. He tacked on a goal to send Nokia Arena into a frenzy.

Barkov finished the game with a goal and three assists while leading the Panthers to an 6-4 win in a storybook homecoming.

He drove the bus for Florida, scoring a goal and two assists while anchoring a stellar performance from the penalty kill.

In essence, Barkov was doing Barkov things, and the Tampere crowd loved every bit of it from their hometown hero.

Right off the opening face-off, Barkov got things going for Florida. He sent a drop pass to Aaron Ekblad, who fired a shot from the point that was deflected by Rodrigues 20 seconds into the game.

It broke the record for the fastest goal scored in an NHL game not played on North American soil, and presumably, the record for the loudest ovation in Nokia Arena history when Barkov was announced to have the secondary assist.

If that second record is accurate, then it only lasted for roughly seven minutes, because Barkov was not close to done.

The crowd came close to breaking the sound barrier after Barkov whistled an 85 mph wrist shot past Jake Oettinger 7:11 into the first period.

It was a special moment for Barkov, and one he could enjoy in front of friends in family. In front of people he grew up with while playing for Tappara Tampere as a kid in Finland. In front of kids who idolize him for being the local kid who became the first Finnish captain to win the Stanley Cup.

After Tyler Seguin scored via a bank shot off Sergei Bobrovsky’s skate 10:45 into the first period, it was Anton Lundell’s turn to have his moment.

Lundell deflected an Ekblad shot past Oettinger with 4:08 to go in the second period to put the Panthers up by two, and he did so in front of over 50 friends and family members. That included his grandfather, who was watching Lundell play an NHL game live for the first time.

Esa Lindell drew Dallas back within a goal 1:32 into the second period, jamming in a shot from the front of the net, and things continued to look like they were going downhill for Florida when Mackie Samoskevich took a hooking penalty 5:32 into the frame.

Sam Reinhart quelled those fears 35 seconds later, firing a snap shot off the rush via a feed from Barkov to restore the two-goal lead.

The Panthers killed off the penalty, and as they have become well-accustomed to doing, shut things down.

Samoskevich blasted a slap shot off of a funky bounce off the boards past Oettinger 2:31 into the third period to make it a 5-2 game. Reinhart then got his second goal of the game with 9:52 to go to pad the lead.

The Stars picked up a couple of goals late in the third period, but it was too little, too late for them.

Florida picked up its fourth-straight win and is now 7-1-1 in its past nine games. And it’s all thanks to a heroic homecoming from their captain.