TAMPERE, Finland -- The Florida Panthers were steamed when they arrived at the 2024 NHL Global Series Finland presented by Fastenal on Friday.
Well, actually, they were ready for a steam.
Embracing the famous saunas of Finland, the Stanley Cup champions arrived for their game against the Dallas Stars on a snowy day at Nokia Arena in bathrobes, looking ready for a trip to the sauna.
They were clearly ready to play hockey, too, defeating Dallas 6-4. They will go for the Global Series sweep Saturday (Noon ET; NHLN, SN1, Victory+, SCRIPPS).
There was some question after the game, though, who came up with the idea to arrive in the robes.
Captain Aleksander Barkov, who is from Finland, said forward Matthew Tkachuk was to credit for the idea.
“It wasn’t my idea. I think it was 'Chuckie,'" Barkov said. "So, Chuckie’s idea."
Barkov said it was not the first time the team wore the robes on this trip. They also wore them to the actual sauna on Wednesday.
"We’ve been wearing them for a while on this road trip, for a lot times, so we just thought maybe we should wear it for the game as well and we did," Barkov said.
Two members of the Panthers who opted not to wear the robes to the game were coach Paul Maurice and general manager Bill Zito.
But why?
"To generalize from the coaching standpoint, the No. 1 rule of coaching is never let them see you naked," Maurice said. "That’s the priority, so you can keep some self respect."
It was just another example of how much the Panthers and Stars have embraced this trip for the two regular-season games this week.
The Stars and Panthers each hit an actual sauna earlier this week as part of their adventures in Helsinki and Tampere.