So, prior to their team dinner on Sunday night, Panthers captain and Finland native Aleksander Barkov decided to gather his teammates at a local sauna for some rest and relaxation, a place where they could really bond as a group and sweat out some of their early-season frustrations.
"It was a bunch of saunas, and then you could walk out and jump into the sea," defenseman Mike Matheson said of the outing. "It was really cold, but it was fun. It felt really good. We sat around a fire and chatted for a little while."
Like all of his teammates, Matheson has spent the first few days in Finland seeing the sights and soaking in the Finnish culture. And with the 2018 Global Series not kicking off until later in the week, there's been plenty of time for team bonding and, of course, shaking off some jetlag.
"I think most of us are pretty used of it, especially with all of the travel that we do," Matheson said of changing time zones. "We're used to getting in at 3:00 a.m., waking up at odd times and trying to get ready for games. We're used to it for the most part, but a six-hour difference is definitely a big jump. Our trainers are also showing us important things to do to help with it."
After a team off day on Monday, the Panthers returned to the ice on Tuesday afternoon for their first real practice of the trip. For although they took the ice on Sunday shortly after arriving from New Jersey, coach Bob Boughner said that was more about simply getting in a "good sweat."
"We've had a couple days to have fun and do that team bonding and stuff, but at the end of the day we're here to play two hockey games and hopefully get four points," Matheson said. "Getting back on the ice today was about back to business."
Like Matheson said, it's going to be all business for the Panthers from here on out.
"We've had some fun the last couple days, but we're here for one reason, and that's for business," center Vincent Trocheck said. "We want four points out of these two games. Yes, you get to see the city for a little bit, but at the end of the day you're getting ready for those games on Thursday and Friday."
With the first game of their back-to-back set against the Winnipeg Jets coming up on Thursday afternoon at Hartwall Arena, Boughner said he plans to ramp up practice even further tomorrow.
"Today, you could see that halfway through practice we dipped a little bit," Boughner said. "We were tired. It was more of a battle-drill day and getting their minds turned back on. Tomorrow will be more about strategy. We did get a couple things done we wanted to accomplish today."
