The Florida Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov last season became the first Finnish-born captain to lead a team to a Stanley Cup. So it was only natural that on Thursday he was named the captain for Team Finland in next month’s 4 Nations Face-Off,

Barkov will lead fellow Finnish Cats Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen and Niko Mikkola at tournament from Feb. 12-20

Representing Finland as the team captain at the 4 Nations Face-Off will be Florida Panthers forward and captain Aleksander "Sasha" Barkov. The Panthers captain was the overwhelming favorite to be given the honor, and now the decision has been made official according to NHL insider Chris Johnston. He shared the news via his X account.

Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and two assists, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 30 shots for his second shutout of the season, and the Florida Panthers beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-0.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves for his second shutout of the season, leading the Florida Panthers to a 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings at Amerant Bank Arena on Wednesday. Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and two assists for the Panthers (30-19-3),