BOSTON – A lot has changed since Brad Marchand was last in Boston.
In just over seven months, the former Bruins captain not only added a second Stanley Cup championship to his illustrious resume, but also signed a six-year contract extension to stay in South Florida.
Once the symbol of a single franchise, it is now shared between two rival clubs.
So as the 37-year-old veteran forward prepares to face his former team for the first time on Tuesday when the Panthers conclude their road trip at TD Garden, he expects a healthy mix of both emotion and excitement upon his return.
“I’m excited for this game,” Marchand said in Monday’s post-practice press conference. “It’s going to be fun to be here against guys that I’ve played with for a long time and to be on the other side of them. I’m sure it’s going to be a pretty intense game. It’s going to be fun to play in front of Bruins fans again. Yeah, I’m excited.”
Back on March 7, the NHL came to a screeching halt when the news broke.
After spending the first 16 seasons of his career with the Bruins, Marchand was suddenly traded to the Panthers in exchange for a conditional second-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.
Those initial conditions were met and the draft pick was subsequently upgraded to a first-round pick as the Panthers focused on winning their second straight Stanley Cup.
Of course, it’s worth paying.
Teaming with the duo of Anton Randell and Eetu Luostarinen, whom he called the “Finnish geniuses,” to form the titular third line for a deep and dangerous Panthers team, Marchand posted 20 points (10G, 10A) and a +17 rating in 23 playoff games.
“He was himself, he was vocal and he was incredibly positive,” head coach Paul Maurice said of Marchand’s big impact on the Panthers. “Even when things aren’t going well, he’s the one who tries to fix it and talks about it. He’s a great leader for us.”
Randell added. “It’s hard to know a player before you play with him. You see how he is on the ice. He’s always very competitive, fights hard, plays on the edge. That was a big learning experience for me. He’s a top-class guy on and off the ice. He wants to improve himself every day, and he pushes everyone to be the best version of themselves.”
As Marchand fans in Boston knew, he played 1,090 games in the regular season and 157 in the playoffs.
He still ranks fifth on the franchise’s all-time scoring list with 976 points (422G, 554A).
It’s safe to assume that Bruins fans won’t judge him even if he wears a different jersey now.
In this one game, Marchand will tie the Panthers and Bruins together.
Well, at least for a few minutes.
“I know they don’t really like the Panthers, so they won’t be able to root for them, but maybe they’ll like me enough to just say, ‘Yay,'” Marchand smiled.
The Panthers, sitting at 3-4-0, drop the puck tomorrow at 7:30pm ET in Boston.
The game will be broadcast exclusively on ESPN.
play with power
The Panthers, who went 0-for-7 in Tuesday’s game against Buffalo with the help of extra attackers, spent most of Monday’s practice on the power play with their new unit.
The first unit featured Randell, Marchand, Seth Jones, Mackie Samoskevic, and Sam Reinhart, while the second unit consisted of Aaron Ekblad, Sam Bennett, Evan Rodriguez, Carter Verhaeghe, and Eetu Luostarinen.
In the game against the Sabers, he was scoreless despite hitting 15 shots on goal on the power play.
“We had 15 shots on goal,” Maurice said. “We might have been a little better in front of the net, but we still miss a lot or get blocked a lot, so we don’t have many nights where we make 15 shots inside the net. We were right about that part. I thought our pace was right, our speed was right. But I’d like to try some different guys. Maybe they can be successful a little faster.”
After scoring four power-play goals in the first three games, the Panthers suddenly weren’t rewarded for their efforts, with zero power-play goals in their last four games.
high tide and high tide.
“It lasts a long time,” Randell said. “Sometimes things don’t work out, but we don’t quit. We want to be better. For ourselves, we’re just trying to do the best. I know I have a lot to give. Just trust the process and take it one day at a time. Tomorrow we have a new opportunity to get better.”
It’s been a tough road to get back on track, but the Bruins currently have the league’s sixth-best penalty kill success rate at 90%.
Mikkola is ready
The Panthers avoided injury for the first time this time.
With several key players already on injured reserve, the defending Stanley Cup champions breathed a sigh of relief when Niko Mikkola took the ice for practice at TD Garden on Monday.
In Saturday’s game against Buffalo, a second-pair defenseman was ejected in the second period after getting tangled with Sabers forward Tyson Kozak and crashing to the ice.
Thankfully, he will be back in the lineup Tuesday against the Bruins.
“We look out for all kinds of injuries,” Maurice said. “It’s good to have him back. He plays hard every night and always puts an ice pack on something. He was fine the next day.”
Mikkola, literally a huge presence on the blue line, is 6-foot-6, 204 pounds and has blocked eight shots while averaging more than 18 minutes of ice time per game this season.
In the 2024-25 season, the great Finn set career highs in goals (6), assists (16) and points (22).
“Obviously, we’re happy to see him feeling good and that it’s not that big of a deal,” Lundell said.
bob in the zone
“Playoff Bob” didn’t miss a beat in the early stages of 2025-2026.
After backstopping the Panthers to their second straight Stanley Cup title and carrying his patented postseason excellence into the new season, Sergei Bobrovsky looked like his usual brick-wall version of himself through his first five appearances.
The 37-year-old veteran, who allowed two or fewer runs in four of his five starts, currently boasts a 3-2-0 record with a 2.02 goals-against average and .917 save percentage. He has the fifth-best save percentage among NHL goalies with at least three games played.
According to MoneyPuck.com, Bobrovsky exceeded expectations by scoring 1.6 goals against.
Monday practice line
forward
Carter Verhaig – Sam Bennett – Sam Reinhart
Etu Luostarinen – Anton Randell – Brad Marchand
Macky Samoskevic – Evan Rodriguez – Jesper Boqvist
AJ Greer – Luke Kunin – Jonah Gajovich
defense personnel
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones
Uvis Balinski – Jeff Petrie
goaltender
Sergei Bobrovsky
Daniil Tarasov
Extras: Noah Greger, Cole Schwindt, Tobias Bjornfot
