Marchand makes instant impact in debut, sets up game-winner in Panthers' OT win over Utah

Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald on Mar 28, 2025

Published in Hockey

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SUNRISE, Fla. — Sometimes the script just writes itself.

Brad Marchand had the assist on the game-winning goal in his Florida Panthers debut, a 2-1 overtime win over the Utah Hockey Club on Friday at Amerant Bank Arena — a win that moves Florida (44-25-3) back into first place in the Atlantic Division with 10 games remaining in the regular season.

The goal scorer on the receiving end of Marchand’s assist? Sam Bennett, who 10 short months ago was involved in a controversial hit on Marchand during the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

“I don’t know what it is, but sometimes it’s just the way things work out,” Bennett said. “You can be rivals and enemies one day, and as soon as you put on that jersey and play for the same cause, everything’s washed away and you’re instantly great friends and teammates that are looking to win together.”

They did just that in their first game playing together for the Panthers. Marchand had to wait three weeks after being acquired by Florida in a trade deadline deal with the Boston Bruins to make his debut as he rehabbed an upper-body injury.

But the 36-year-old veteran forward, who is in the final stage of his 16th NHL season, made an immediate impact.

Marchand finished the game with four shots on goal, two hits and two blocked shots in 16 and a half minutes. Florida outshot Utah 10-1 and had a 10-5 edge in scoring chances on Utah when Marchand was on the ice, according to the advanced hockey statistics website Natural Stat Trick.

And he saved his biggest moment for the end, showing his patience and veteran savvy to set up Bennett for the game-winning goal in the final minute of overtime.

On the winning sequence, Marchand took a feed from defenseman Gustav Forsling near the Utah net and peeled back behind the crease. He stopped momentarily so Bennett could get in position at the bottom of the left circle. And at just the right moment, Marchand sent the puck to Bennett, who sent a backhanded shot past Utah goaltender Karel Vejmelka to seal Florida’s seventh consecutive home win.

“It’s great to get the win and be part of that with the guys,” Marchand said. “They compete so hard here, and it’s just nice to get out there and feel like you’re part of it.”

Coach Paul Maurice’s assessment of Marchand’s debut?

“Good, right?” Maurice said. “He makes a lot of small area plays in traffic and in corners that are really hard to do. His hands are fantastic. I thought in the third period, when he went back over to the left [wing] and [Mackie] Samoskevich came to the right that the line got a little faster. It’s a little easier on the breakout. You don’t have people going the other way, that way. So there’s a good start. And gives us a little different look.”

Bennett opened scoring 2:28 into the second period with a power-play goal set up by Aleksander Barkov and Samoskevich. Friday marked Bennett’s third multi-goal game of the season.

Utah (32-30-12) tied the game 1:55 into the third period when Sean Durzi scored on an odd-man rush with the game at four-on-four. Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovksy took care of everything else from there, stopping 13 of 14 shots he faced overall to improve to 31-15-2 on the season.

The Panthers close their three-game homestand Sunday afternoon against the Montreal Canadiens. Puck drop is set for 1 p.m.