When: Saturday, November 2 at 11:00 AM CT

Where: Nokia Arena

TV: Victory+

Radio: The Ticket 96.7-FM, 1310-AM

Live Stats: NHL Game Center

Tickets: Single Game

Arena Policies: Frequently Asked Questions

Special Event: Global Series

Five Points 5️⃣

· The Dallas Stars face the Florida Panthers Friday night at Nokia Arena in Finland for the first time this season. Entering Friday’s match, the Stars are 7-2-0 while the Panthers are 7-3-1. Tomorrow’s contest will be one of two matchups between the two teams, also playing in a back-to-back game on Nov. 2.

· The Stars have earned points in five of their past eight meetings against the Panthers.

· Dallas is 23-19-10 all-time vs. Florida, including a 10-9-6 mark at home and a 13-10-4 mark on the road.

· Captain Jamie Benn has nine points (3-6—9) in his past 10 games against the Panthers. Benn leads active Stars in goals (16), assists (17) and points (16-17—33) in 30 career games vs. Florida.

· Forward Matt Duchene ranks second among active Stars in goals (13) and third in points (13-14—27) in 29 games vs. Florida. He also shares first in power-play goals (3) and game winners (2).

Stats Against Opponent ✍

Players To Watch

Forward Mason Marchment spent two seasons with the Panthers (2020-22), registering 20 goals and 57 points (20-37—57) in 87 regular-season games. He added three goals (3-0—3) in 10 postseason contests with them. Marchment has four points (1-3—4) in four career games against the Cats.

Florida Panthers forward Sam Reinhart is coming off a two-point performance (1-1—2) on Oct. 28 against Buffalo, extending his active point streak to three games. He currently leads the Panthers with 16 points (7-9—16) which also has him tied for seventh across the NHL.

First Shift

The two coaches for the Global Series in Tampere, Finland have come a long way.

Stars coach Pete DeBoer and Panthers coach Paul Maurice actually met back in 1984 when DeBoer started his junior career with the Windsor Spitfires, a team where Maurice was already a leader. The two became fast friends and eventual roommates. Maurice helped get DeBoer into coaching and they eventually each stood up for the other at their weddings.

Asked about the relationship, DeBoer said it is close.

“We ended up being roommates, worked together, and he gave me my first coaching job,” DeBoer said. “Our wives became good friends. Lots of connections, good memories. I can’t believe it’s been 40 years.”

Maurice is in his 28th year of NHL coaching. DeBoer spent a decade in Major Junior and has been in the NHL for the past 17 years. Each has had tremendous success. DeBoer has helped the Stars to a Western Conference Final appearance in each of his two seasons in Dallas, and his teams have been a step short of the Stanley Cup Final in five of the past seven seasons overall.

That makes this meeting in Finland special.

“We’re both on the back nine of our careers, we’ve got a long history and it really has come full circle,” DeBoer said.

The two coaches have had their share of battles, but the two games in Finland are special. Dallas and Florida are in different conferences, and this will be the only time the two coaches see each other this season – unless they meet in the Stanley Cup Final.

They had coffee together and have been able to chat, which is rare during the season. But DeBoer said their relationship means that there is an easy bond no matter what circumstances arise.

“We all have friends where you don’t have to see each other for a long time and it all picks up,” he said.

Maurice said the friendship is one that simply works.

“We just became friends easily,” Maurice said. “He’s got a wicked sense of humor, he is an incredibly bright guy. He’s really funny and he laughs hard. So, if you are with him for a while, you walk away and you haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. You are not sure if it’s that funny, but you just join in on the laughter. He’s a good man.”

Which makes this little adventure all the more special.

“We started our career together, almost accidentally,” Maurice said. “We had no idea what we were doing and we ended up in the National [Hockey] League.”

Very successful in the National Hockey League.

Key Numbers

34

Stars captain Benn has 35 points (18 goals, 17 assists) in 32 career games against Florida.

33

Stars forward Seguin has 34 points (12 goals, 22 assists) in 31 career games against Florida.

5

Florida has scored first in just five of its 12 games. Dallas has scored first in six of 10.

He Said It

“It’s probably a good thing that you get to the next game quickly. Clearly, we want to improve some things.”

– Stars defenseman Esa Lindell on the team playing Saturday after a 6-4 loss to Florida Friday

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @MikeHeika.

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