Stanley Cup final: Marchand plays hero for Panthers in Game 2 win over Oilers

Brad Marchand slipped a puck nether Stuart Skinner’s pad connected his ain rebound.

That effort disconnected the instrumentality of the Florida Panthers winger dribbled done Edmonton’s crease and touched the station earlier being cleared to safety.

That agonizingly adjacent telephone successful Friday’s archetypal overtime play came aft Marchand connected connected a short-handed breakaway successful the 2nd period.

The 37-year-old didn’t miss connected his adjacent chance.

Marchand scored connected different breakaway — this clip successful treble OT — arsenic the Panthers bushed the Oilers 5-4 to adjacent the Stanley Cup last 1-1.

“Pure excitement and adrenalin for the full group,” helium said successful describing the infinitesimal earlier getting mobbed by teammates wrong a stunned Rogers Place. “We each knew we were 1 changeable distant … luckily it went our way.”

Florida, which bushed Edmonton successful 7 games successful past year’s last for the franchise’s archetypal title, recovered aft Corey Perry tied the crippled with 17.8 seconds near successful regulation.

“We’ve ever had a precise calm team,” Marchand said. “You gully from your experiences. We bash a truly bully occupation of focusing connected the moment.”

His ninth and 10th goals all-time successful Cup last play gave him the pb among progressive players. Marchand’s show came precisely 14 years aft helium scored short-handed successful the 2011 last against the Vancouver Canucks.

Roberto Luongo — the opposing netminder astatine the clip and present peculiar advisor for the Panthers — posted to X, the societal media level formerly known arsenic Twitter: “Favourite subordinate of each time.”

“Lu is awesome,” said the Halifax product. “He’s an unthinkable person. Happy to beryllium connected the team.”

Marchand was acquired from the Bruins, who were eliminated by the Panthers from the 2023 and 2024 playoffs, astatine the commercialized deadline buzzer backmost successful March.

The acceptable has been seamless for a subordinate that has made plentifulness of enemies passim his career.

“Brad’s an honorable man,” said Florida caput manager Paul Maurice, whose radical dropped the bid opener to Edmonton 4-3 successful OT. “He loves the game. He loves the radical astir him. He’s precise open, precise gregarious. He (was) wholly accepted. An incredibly affirmative quality being. He’s up and down our seat each the clip conscionable pumping tires, stays successful the fight. He is going to beryllium the aforesaid mode astatine meal (Saturday) morning. He’s conscionable going to beryllium jacked, high-fiving everybody astatine the table.”

“He enjoys the moment,” Panthers winger Evan Rodrigues added. “He doesn’t shy distant from it.”

Marchand’s parents were successful the stands Wednesday, with his parent was caught connected camera celebrating her son’s heroics.

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He was asked post-game to picture Lynn Marchand arsenic a hockey mom.

“She is 1 that you request to enactment a muzzle on,” helium said to laughter from reporters. “She gets beauteous amped up astatine the games. They’ve ever been truthful supportive. I don’t deliberation immoderate subordinate successful this league could accidental that their parents are not the main crushed wherefore we’re here.”

Marchand, who won the Cup successful 2011 and besides played successful the 2013 and 2019 finals, has shown nary signs of slowing down astatine property 37 successful his 16th NHL season.

“He could play till he’s 47 the mode he’s going,” Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk said. “Unreal player, unreal competitor.”

Marchand’s 5th vocation playoff OT extremity tied Perry, Patrick Kane and Panthers teammate Carter Verhaeghe for the astir among progressive players. The seasoned guardant besides became the seventh subordinate successful NHL past to scope that number.

“He conscionable finds a way,” said Florida defenceman Nate Schmidt, who had a mates of run-ins with Marchand earlier this play erstwhile helium was inactive captaining Boston. “I don’t deliberation it gets excessively large for him. He was 1 of our astir vocal guys passim the 3rd and the intermissions. It doesn’t look similar helium ever gets excessively riled astir it, which is thing you need.

“He is simply a seasoned beingness feline that’s got a ring. We’re truly fortunate to person him.”

Maurice called Marchand “a unsocial human” that has recovered a caller location arsenic the best-of-seven bid present shifts to South Florida.

“In the bluish parlance,” said the coach, “he’s a beauty.”