The Dallas Stars played the Florida Panthers in the first game of the 2024 NHL Global Series Finland on Friday night, with the Panthers winning 6-4.
Florida opened the game by taking a lead early in the first period, as the Stars went into the first intermission trailing 3-1.
A goal by Stars defenseman Esa Lindell to open the second period cut the Panthers’ lead down to just 3-2, but Florida quickly responded as they went into the final intermission with a 4-2 lead.
Although the Stars had some momentum entering the final intermission, Florida opened the third period with two early goals and a 6-2 lead. The defense seemingly slowed as the Stars attempted to climb their way back into the game.
Stars Head Coach Pete Deboer said after the game that the message he sent his team was “pretty clear,” explaining that one of the main reasons they lost was “about competitiveness.”
“We had warned them, that’s a team that is going to push you out of the rink if you are not willing to compete for the puck, win battles, net fronts. We didn’t do that in the first period. I just politely pointed that out,” he added, according to NHL.com.
Despite the loss, Dallas has gotten off to one of the league’s hottest starts in the 2024-25 season. They are now 7-3 on the season and are in third place in the Western Conference behind only the Winnipeg Jets and the Minnesota Wild.
The Stars could not claim the victory in the first of these two matchups, but they will have the chance to leave Finland with a 1-1 record after their second game against the Panthers today at 11 a.m.
Lindell said after Friday’s game that the team is now focused on picking up their next win after they were “a little bit behind all night” in the first matchup, noting that everyone on the Stars is prepared to move on to the next game.
“Of course, it’s not the start we wanted and then it’s tough to chase from behind,” he said, per NHL.com.
“You get to the next game quickly. Clearly, we want to improve some things and so do they. I think overall we want to be better.”
