The first time Florida coach Paul Maurice visited Finland, he didn’t know much about the country’s intense love of hockey.

He learned. Quickly.

“I think one of the real benefits, sort of the side benefits for the NHL coaches and players, is that they fully understand that the game doesn’t belong in Canada or the United States,” he said. declared Maurice. “When you grow up and you don’t leave, that’s what you think, right? “No one loves the game more than us.” You come here, and they love the game as much as we do. This is a nation of people who love the game.”

Finland, a country of about 5.5 million people, is the home country of about 5 percent of NHL players this season. Divide the number of NHL players by a country’s population, and Finland sends about as many players per capita to the league as Canada and Sweden – and at a much higher rate than the United States and Russia.

And on Friday and Saturday, the beautiful Nordic country will have the opportunity to celebrate seven of those players – four from Florida, three from Dallas – when the Stanley Cup champion Stars and Panthers play two games in Tampere.

“I’ve been excited about this,” said Panthers captain and Tampere native Aleksander Barkov, “for a very long time.”

Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger feels that extra special vibe when he plays in his native Minnesota. For the Finns participating in these matches: Miro Heiskanen, Roope Hintz and Esa Lindell for the Stars; Barkov, Eetu Luostarinen, Niko Mikkola and Anton Lundell for the Panthers – he knows it will be different.

“It’s like Christmas Day for them,” Oettinger said. “I know how special it is to play in Minnesota, and for these guys, it’s even more special because they’ve never done this before. It’s pretty cool for them.

The NHL has played 19 previous games in Finland – nine in the regular season and 10 in the preseason. It’s a marathon trip for these teams, a nine-hour flight from Dallas for the Stars and a 7 1/2-hour flight from Buffalo (where Florida last played) for the Panthers.

Nobody complains. The teams are clearly taking advantage of this opportunity.

Panthers president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Zito has played in Finland before and had a long list of places he wanted to see again this week. He was asked what he hoped non-Finnish players would take away from the trip.

“An appreciation of the beauty of Finland,” Zito said. “Just everything about it. You just smile. It’s a great place.

The Panthers and Stars have soaked up (literally, in some cases) a lot of the culture that Finland has to offer. The country takes great pride in its saunas, which Stars coach Peter DeBoer said offered some an opportunity to sweat over the Finnish beer consumed during the first night or two of the trip.

Some players jumped into the sea, a sort of final cold plunge. Maurice said he would try to consume all the smoked fish he could find, Zito said he intended to buy all the chocolate he could get. The Panthers have had their fix of salmon soup – something Lundell has been boasting about for weeks – and there is another delicacy that was also enjoyed.

It would be a reindeer.

“I just hope it wasn’t Rudolph,” Stars forward Matt Duchene said.

Added Stars forward Tyler Seguin: “It scared me at first, but it’s pretty good. »

Food played an important role in the story of the early days of this journey. A Finnish newspaper headlined “Suomen herkut maistuivat” – translated as “Finnish specialties were delicious” – below a photo of Barkov giving teammate Matthew Tkachuk his first taste of Finland during the trip.

“A dessert that Barky will have to explain; he said it was like a cake he ate at school,” Tkachuk said. “That was a good thing.”

Another bonus for Finnish fans: they got two very good teams from this deal. The Panthers are 7-3-1 and the Stars are 7-2-0 and many have picked both to advance to the Stanley Cup Final next spring. Tickets sold out quickly and Finnish players on both sides will have plenty of people they know in the stands on Friday and Saturday.

“I’m actually very excited,” Tkachuk said. “I think I’m very excited for the Finns on the team. What a great opportunity for them. …It’s above all else. Hockey is going to come second here.