Brad Marchand certainly made a big impression in his first game back with the Florida Panthers on Sunday night against the host Anaheim Ducks.
Marchand, who had been out since last March, returned to the Panthers lineup on Sunday and scored the game-tying goal with 1:50 left in regulation.
That meant a third-straight trip to overtime for the Panthers in this young season with Mikael Granlund scoring Anaheim’s third power-play goal of the night with 45 seconds left for a 3-2 win.
The Panthers are 1-0-2 this season.
Florida was playing its first game this season without Sasha Barkov who suffered what looks like an injury to his left knee on Thursday in San Jose and is now on LTIR.
But Marchand was back, coming off the IL a lot earlier than the team thought. He opened the game on a new line with Brady Tkachuk and center Sam Reinhart.
Down 2-1 in the third after Cutter Gauthier scored twice on the power play for Anaheim, Marchand jabbed at a puck down low and put it past Lukas Dostal.
Florida trailed 1-0 on Gauthier’s first-period goal, only Carter Verhaeghe tied the score a few moments later.
Gauthier made it 2-1 in the opening minute of the second, but that was it for the scoring until Marchand tied it up.
NOTEBOOK: PANTHERS at DUCKS
Aaron Ekblad is away from the team and is back in South Florida with his wife Dayna for the birth of the couple’s first child.
The Panthers became the fourth NHL team since 2019 to open a season with the first three games going to overtime. It was the first time in franchise history that had happened.
The Ducks extended their home-opener winning streak to 11 straight, tying the NHL reord with Montreal (1953-1963) and Boston (2016-current).
HOW THEY SCORED
Ducks 1, Panthers 0 (16:18 1st PP): Cutter Gauthier scores on a sharp wrister from the top of the left circle after the Panthers get caught with having too many skaters on the ice.
Panthers 1, Ducks 1 (17:09 1st): Florida answers quickly with Carter Verhaeghe scoring off a loose puck in front.
Ducks 2, Panthers 1 (0:47 2nd PP): Gauthier gets his second of the night, ripping a one-timer from the slot.
Panthers 2, Ducks 2 (18:10 3rd): Brad Marchand jams a puck past Lukas Dostal to tie the score with Jacob Markstrom on the bench.
Ducks 3, Panthers 2 (4:15 OT PP): Mikael Granlund scores from in front for the Ducks’ third power play goal of the night.
FHN’S 3 STARS
1. Cutter Gauthier, Ducks
2. Brad Marchand, Panthers
3. Mikael Granlund, Ducks
ON DECK: GAME No. 4
FLORIDA PANTHERS at LOS ANGELES KINGS
When: Tuesday, 10 p.m.
Where: Crypto Arena, Los Angeles
National TV: ESPN. Streaming: ESPN+, Hulu, Disney+
Radio: WQAM; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM. Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
Last Season: Panthers won 2-0
This Season — At Los Angeles: Tuesday. At Florida: Jan. 24
All-time Regular Season Series: Los Angeles leads 27-17-1, 3 ties
Up Next for the Panthers: Home Opener — vs. Minnesota Wild, Saturday, 6 p.m.
George Richards is the publisher of Florida Hockey Now and has been the beat writer covering the NHL Florida … More about George Richards, FHN Publisher