Brad Marchand made a fairly immediate impact in his Florida Panthers debut Friday night against the Utah Hockey Club, feeding Sam Bennett the overtime winner in a 2-1 victory.
The veteran winger had been out since March 1 because of an upper-body injury. The Panthers acquired him from the Boston Bruins before the March 7 trade deadline for a conditional second-round pick.
Marchand began the game skating on Florida's second line with Bennett and Mackie Samoskevich. That trio was also in the Panthers' starting lineup alongside defensemen Niko Mikkola and Nate Schmidt and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.
Marchand came into the night having collected 21 goals and 26 assists in 61 games this season. He helped Canada capture the 4 Nations Face-Off championship, and he's scheduled for unrestricted free agency July 1.
The Panthers are still without star winger Matthew Tkachuk due to injury and Aaron Ekblad because of a suspension.
Florida leapfrogged the Toronto Maple Leafs for first place in the Atlantic Division to lead by one point with Friday's win. The Panthers and Leafs have both played 72 games this season.
