Aleksander Barkov received some pretty big news during the final series

Aleksander Barkov’s Florida Panthers are one win away from a second consecutive championship.

The last few days have been like Christmas for Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov, 29. The man has had a lot to celebrate in the past few days.

Local time on Saturday night, the Panthers claimed a victory at Edmonton’s home field after a brutal away performance and took a 3–2 lead in the final series.

The fifth final in Edmonton ended 5–2. Barkov assisted on one of his team’s goals.

I am truly honored and grateful for the opportunity

In addition to the club’s success, Barkov also received good news from the national team: he is one of six stars pre-nominated for the Lions’ Olympic team.

Others included Nashville Predators goalie Juuse Saros, Carolina Hurricanes number one center Sebastian Aho, and Dallas Stars’ Finnish trio Mikko Rantanen, Miro Heiskanen, and Esa Lindell.

Barkov was visibly happy when commenting on the Olympic selection.

– A truly great honor. It has been one of my biggest dreams and goals in my life. To represent Finland at the Olympics. Luckily, I have already had the opportunity to represent Finland once in Sochi 2014, even though that trip only lasted a couple of games. It was a wonderful experience, and I enjoyed every second of it. The Olympics were my biggest dream as a little boy.

Barkov, who was only 18 years old at the time, was injured at the beginning of the tournament, which resulted in only a couple of games.

He is looking forward to the tournament in February next year, where the best in the world will meet, with water in his mouth.

– I am truly honored and grateful for the opportunity.

You shouldn’t think too much about what it’s going to do

The Finnish star heard about the selection before Monday, when the pre-nominated players were announced.

– A day or two earlier I found out that the selections would be announced and that I would be involved.

Barkov considers the Olympic tournament to be the biggest tournament in which a hockey player can represent his country.

The previous best-versus-best tournament was played last February, when the NHL organized a four-nation tournament in Boston and Montreal.

The participating countries in the tournament were Finland, Sweden, the USA and Canada.

Finland defeated Sweden in overtime in the tournament, but lost to the United States and Canada. The Lions ultimately lost the tournament.

The tournament has not yet been broken down into atoms, but Barkov doubts that such a feedback opportunity will come up.

– We’ve been through the 4 Nations a bit, but not too much, with the club seasons underway. Maybe more in the summer.

Championship interrupted

Despite the good news, Barkov and the Panthers’ season is still very much in the middle.

The championship is suspended for the reigning champions on Wednesday night, Finnish time.

Barkov, the NHL’s best defensive forward, also plays a huge role in the invitational game. He has managed to outshine Edmonton’s superstars, and the Tampere native will have to do the same on Tuesday night local time.

Last year, the Panthers led the final series against Edmonton 3–0, but the resilient Oilers scraped to even the series.

He is the best player in the world, the most skilled player in the world

Now the Panthers are a year more experienced.

– Every series teaches you a lot. We’ve had series this year where we’ve had a break. We’ve learned from them how to play. When you get that feeling that you want to break things so badly that you’re trying to do too much. That’s probably the biggest thing you shouldn’t do. You have to be better in every game, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to do something differently.

As in last year’s finals, this year the setup has been clear: the world’s best defensive forward Barkov versus the world’s best offensive player Connor McDavid.

Barkov explained how he sees this setup and approaches the situation.

– You shouldn’t think too much about what he’s going to do. He’s the best player in the world, the most skilled player in the world. If you start thinking and waiting for what he’s going to do, it’s already over. All five players on the ice have to be ready to react because he can do anything.

Barkov isn’t too worried about tomorrow’s first match point. He lives – as he should – in the moment.

– We are happy with the big win in the fifth game and we are aware of the situation that we are one win away from the championship. We can only prepare mentally and physically for tomorrow.