Brad Marchand made his Florida Panthers debut on Friday night and made an immediate impact, setting up Sam Bennett’s overtime game-winning goal in a 2-1 triumph over the Utah Hockey Club at Amerant Bank Arena.
“It was still different today,” Marchand told reporters afterwards, including NHL.com’s George Richards. “Every day that goes by, I feel a lot more comfortable, a lot more a part of the group. When you play, and you’re in everything day-to-day, it definitely helps that go quicker. I am excited to continue to build with the group here.”
Marchand was thrown right into the fire, playing 16:30 over 22 shifts, including 2:16 on the powerplay, in his first game since suffering an upper-body injury on March 1.
The Nova Scotia native finished with an assist and four shots on goal over seven attempts. The assist was a critical one; Marchand fed linemate Bennett from behind the net, and Bennett did the rest, sending a seeing-eye backhand shot past Utah goaltender Karel Vejmelka with 41.1 seconds remaining in the extra frame.
“It seems like they have played together the whole season with the way they found each other,” said Panthers netminder Sergei Bobrovsky, who made 13 saves on 14 shots in the win. “It’s fun to watch how they play.”
Despite being rivals for most of their career — the Panthers and Boston Bruins have played in each of the last two Stanley Cup Playoffs — the pair of bruising forwards have now put that aside as they work toward a common goal in 2024-25.
“Sometimes that’s just the way it works out,’’ Bennett said, per Richards. “You can be rivals and enemies one day, and as soon as you put on that jersey and play for the same cause, everything is washed away. You’re instantly great friends and teammates that are looking to win together.’’
“Every time you are able to play, it definitely helps with chemistry and our communication,’’ echoed Marchand. “Such a big part of the game is reading and reacting. He is a very smart player and put himself in position to get a good, quality chance. Ultimately, he capitalized on it.’’
Panthers coming for Atlantic Division crown
The victory was Florida’s second in a row, and they remain in first place in the Atlantic Division with 91 points and 10 games left in the regular-season. But the hold is precarious.
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning each have 10 games remaining as well; the Leafs are a single point back; the Bolts, two. That is shaping up to be a photo finish in the Eastern Conference, and the two teams that don’t win the division will have to battle in Round 1.
It’s clear that Florida is hoping to avoid that scenario, although they’ve beaten Toronto and Tampa Bay the last time they’ve played each in the playoffs.
Marchand and the Panthers will look to make it three victories in a row against the visiting Montreal Canadiens on Sunday afternoon. Puck is set to drop just past 1:00 p.m. ET from Sunrise.
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