Tarasenko already feeling right at home with Florida, because it is home

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Vladimir Tarasenko was born and raised in Russia, and has spent his NHL career playing in St. Louis, New York and Ottawa. Tarasenko’s wife and children have made South Florida their full-time home for the last year or so, which is one of many reasons why the veteran winger and Stanley Cup champion jumped at the chance to join the Panthers. “We usually spend the summers, but this year we decided they’ll stay here, the kids will play hockey and get in school,” Tarasenko said. Among his ties: he’s close friends with goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, played in St. Louis with defenseman Niko Mikkola and has worked out in the summers with forward Matthew Tkachuk. We spent a lot of time talking about how we think he’ll fit in the room.” Barkov, the Panthers’ captain, said it didn’t take any time at all for the team to welcome another big-time scorer — 17 goals this season, 287 for his career — into the room, knowing that he makes the team with the best record in the NHL to this point even more talented.