Alie Skowronski [email protected] After a week-and-a-half on the road, including five days in Finland for the NHL Global Series, the Florida Panthers are back in South Florida and ready to be home for a bit. A five-game homestand starts on ...

Each of Florida’s four Finnish players -- Aleksander Barkov, Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen and Niko Mikkola -- had at least one point at Global Series. Barkov, whose boyhood home sits in the shadow of Nokia Arena, had five (one goal, four assists), and a Finn figured in each of the Panthers’ first eight goals.

Finland is a nation of about 5.5 million people. And it's the homeland for about 5% of the players in the NHL this season.

After dropping the first game of the NHL Global Series in Finland 6-4 to Florida, the Dallas Stars could not find a win in the second half of the back-to-back despite a better first period effort from the team.