PANTHERS AND JETS SET FOR 2018 NHL GLOBAL SERIES Oct. 31, 2018 Led by Tampere, Finland natives Aleksander Barkov and Patrik Laine, the Florida Panthers and Winnipeg Jets are set to face off in the 2018 NHL Global Series at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki on Thursday, Nov. 1 and Friday, Nov. 2. The contests will be the 30th and 31st regular-season games to be played outside North America, and will bring the total to 25 such games in Europe and seven in Finland. * Barkov, selected second overall in 2013, was the first Finnish-born skater in League history to be selected either No. 1 or No. 2 in the NHL Draft. Laine later became the second Finnish-born skater to be chosen that high, when the Jets picked him second overall in 2016. They now rank in the top five for goals among active Finnish-born players: Mikko Koivu (195), Valtteri Filppula (172), Barkov (102), Mikael Granlund (84) and Laine (83). ^ Goaltender Kari Lehtonen (Helsinki, Finland) was selected second overall by the Atlanta Thrashers in 2002 * Overall, 216 Finnish-born players (185 skaters, 31 goaltenders) have appeared in a regular-season or playoff NHL game. That includes 40 (33 skaters, 7 goaltenders) this season. Florida’s Juho Lammikko (Noormarkku) joins Barkov and Laine as the only Finnish-born players on the Jets and Panthers rosters. CAPTAIN ALEKSANDER BARKOV LEADS PANTHERS ON HOME SOIL The Panthers enter the Global Series with a group of top-five point-getters who hail from four different nations (Russia, U.S., Canada and Finland), including their Finnish-born captain. * Aleksander Barkov (2-6—8 in 9 GP), named the eighth Finnish-born captain in League history on Sept. 17, has collected 102-155—257 in 340 career games since entering the League in 2013-14. He ranks seventh and 10th in all-time franchise goals and points, respectively — lists led by Kuopio, Finland native Olli Jokinen (188-231—419 in 567 GP w/ FLA). * Evgenii Dadonov (4-6—10 in 9 GP) has a point in seven of nine games in 2018-19 and takes a six- game point streak into Thursday’s contest (3-4—7). The franchise record for most points through the team’s opening 10 games was set in 1995-96 by Scott Mellanby (8-5—13) and Stu Barnes (6-7—13). * Keith Yandle (1-8—9 in 9 GP) can match the franchise record for most points by a defenseman through the first 10 team games in a season (Keith Ballard: 2-8—10 in 2008-09). He ranks third among all Panthers with 14-92—106 in 173 outings since joining the club for the start of 2016-17. Yandle, 32, owns the NHL’s longest active streak of consecutive games played, skating in 724 straight games dating to March 26, 2009 - 13 shy of tying Jay Bouwmeester for the sixth-longest such run in League history. * Vincent Trocheck (3-5—8 in 9 GP) leads all Panthers players with 57 goals since the beginning of the 2016-17 season (57-80—137 in 173 GP), including a career-high 31 in 2017-18. Trocheck and Barkov can join Jokinen (2002-03 to 2007-08) and Nathan Horton (2005-06 to 2009-10) as the only players in franchise history to reach the 20-goal mark in four or more consecutive seasons. * Jonathan Huberdeau (97-178—275 in 394 GP) is three goals shy of becoming the 10th player to score 100 with the franchise; Barkov (102) is the only active Panthers player to have reached the milestone. Did You Know? Finnish-born players have accounted for 435 of the 4,941 regular-season goals scored in Panthers franchise history (not including shootout-deciding goals). The 8.8% of goals by Finnish-born players is the fourth-highest such total among all NHL franchises, behind the Wild (12.4%; 437 of 3,522), Ducks (12.1%; 625 of 5,151) and Golden Knights (10.2%; 30 of 294). PATRIK LAINE TO GUIDE JETS IN CLUB’S DEBUT OVERSEAS After reaching the Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history last spring, the Jets are off to a 7-4-1 start to 2018-19 as they head overseas for the first time to play in the home country of one of their top young stars. * Patrik Laine (3-2—5 in 12 GP), who will celebrate his 21st birthday on April 19, 2019, has scored 83 goals through the first 167 games of his NHL career. Only 13 players in NHL history have scored more goals before celebrating their 21st birthday. * Mark Scheifele (6-6—12 in 12 GP) leads the Jets in goals (tied) and points this season and has collected 61-93—154 since the beginning of the 2016-17 season (151 GP). He is one of 14 NHL players to average at least one point per game in that span (min. 90 GP). * Blake Wheeler (2-9—11 in 12 GP), who has collected at least 70 points in three consecutive seasons, has 77-177—254 since the beginning of 2015-16 (257 GP), ranking third in assists and fifth in points among all players in that span. * Kyle Connor (6-5—11 in 12 GP), who led all rookies with 31 goals in 2017-18, shares the team lead with six tallies this season. The Jets (Laine in 2016-17, Connor in 2017-18) were the eighth team in NHL history to feature at least one rookie with 30+ goals in consecutive seasons and first since the Penguins (Sidney Crosby in 2005-06, Evgeni Malkin in 2006-07). * Dustin Byfuglien (2-5—7 in 10 GP) shares the team lead among defensemen with seven points this season. An eighth-round selection (245th overall) in the 2003 NHL Draft, Byfuglien (175-325—500) became the third-latest draft pick to accumulate 500 points when he reached the milestone on Oct. 26. The only players drafted later than Byfuglien to record at least 500 career points are Tomas Holmstrom of Pitea, Sweden (10th round, 257th overall in 1994) and Kimmo Timonen of Kuopio, Finland (10th round, 250th overall in 1993). NHL MOMENTS: FINNISH-BORN PLAYERS * Right wing Al Pudas (Siikajoki, Finland) made history on Dec. 30, 1926 when he became the first Finnish-born player to play in a regular-season NHL game. Almost 50 years later, center Matti Hagman (Helsinki, Finland) became the first Finnish-born and trained player to skate in the NHL. * Right wing Jari Kurri (Helsinki, Finland) collected 601-797—1,398 over 17 NHL seasons and captured five career Stanley Cups as an integral part of the 1980s Edmonton Oilers dynasty, tied with longtime teammate Esa Tikkanen (Helsinki, Finland) for the most Cups ever by a Finnish-born player. Kurri appeared in 858 regular-season games alongside Wayne Gretzky with the Oilers and Los Angeles Kings and assisted on 196 of his NHL-record 894 career goals (21.9%), by far the most among any of Gretzky’s teammates. Kurri tops all Finnish-born players for career NHL assists, ranking second in goals and points. * Right wing Teemu Selanne (Helsinki, Finland) registered 684-773—1,457 across 21 NHL seasons, the most goals and points by a Finnish-born player in League history. He scored 76 goals in 84 games with the original Winnipeg Jets in 1992-93 to establish the NHL record for most in a season by a rookie, shattering the previous mark of 53 set by Mike Bossy in 1977-78 with the New York Islanders. * One of the most beloved players in the storied history of the Canadiens franchise, center Saku Koivu (Turku, Finland) received a nine-minute standing ovation from fans when he returned to the Montreal lineup on April 9, 2002 after being diagnosed with Burkitt's lymphoma and missing most of the 2001-02 regular season. For his courage and off-ice team leadership while undergoing cancer treatment, he was awarded the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy following the 2002 Stanley Cup Playoffs. * Miikka Kiprusoff (Turku) leads all Finnish-born NHL goaltenders with 319 career wins. Nashville’s Pekka Rinne (Kempele) sits five victories shy of the top spot with 314; he already owns the NHL record for shutouts by a Finnish-born goaltender, with 52. BY THE NUMBERS: NHL GAMES OVERSEAS * The Jets will become the 24th different team to play a regular-season NHL game outside North America. * The NHL has played regular-season games outside North America in six different countries and eight different cities, including this October’s contest in Gothenburg, Sweden, between the Oilers and Devils. * Total attendance for the League’s 29 regular-season games to date at venues outside North America is 386,818 – an average of 13,339 per game. * Helsinki’s Hartwall Arena has played host to five prior regular-season NHL games, in 2009, 2010 and 2011. No other Finnish city has staged a regular-season NHL game. * The Panthers have played in two of the prior five regular-season NHL games at Hartwall Arena. They opened the 2009-10 campaign in Finland with a pair of contests against the Chicago Blackhawks, a 4-3 shootout win on Oct. 2 and a 4-0 loss on Oct. 3. Panthers defenseman and Oulu, Finland, native Ville Koistinen secured Florida’s Oct. 2 win with the game-deciding goal in the shootout. * Three current members of the Panthers and Jets played in those 2009 games, all for different teams: • Current Panthers forward Troy Brouwer played for the Blackhawks, compiling 29:34 in ice time, six shots on goal, four penalty minutes and a -2 rating.