ANAHEIM - Brad Marchand returned from a six-month absence and scored the tying goal with 1:50 left in regulation, but the Florida Panthers dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on Sunday, falling to 1-0-2 on the young season.
Marchand, who underwent surgery in August and had not played since March 6 of last season, logged 13:10 of ice time in his season debut on a line with Sam Reinhart and Brady Tkachuk. His goal - a rebound jam past Lukas Dostal off a point shot from Lars Eller with Jacob Markstrom pulled for an extra attacker - forced overtime before Mikael Granlund ended it with a tip-in at 4:14 of the extra frame on Anaheim’s third power-play goal of the night.
“It was great to be back out there,” Marchand said. “It’s going to take some time to get the timing of everything back and conditioning back, but it was incredible being back out there and being part of the team.”
Marchand also acknowledged the adjustment ahead, telling reporters: “Six months since I played a game. Only this game for a month now, so I kind of bring them down a little bit just with my timing and my speed and all that. We’re working through that together, but when I get back there to speed, I think we have great potential to be a really good line.”
The loss was the Panthers’ third consecutive overtime game to open a season, making them the fourth NHL team since 2019 to accomplish that - and the first in franchise history. The game was also played without captain Aleksander Barkov, who was placed on long-term injured reserve after suffering what appeared to be a left knee injury Thursday in San Jose.
Cutter Gauthier did the bulk of the damage for Anaheim, scoring twice on the power play. His first came at 16:18 of the first period on a wrister from the top of the left circle after Florida was penalized for too many men on the ice. Carter Verhaeghe answered less than a minute later at 17:09, converting a rebound in front off a Sam Bennett shot to tie it 1-1. Gauthier struck again just 47 seconds into the second period, ripping a one-timer from the slot to make it 2-1.
Despite the loss, Florida dominated possession, leading 50-32 in shot attempts at 5-on-5 and 35-25 in scoring chances overall, generating 4.39 expected goals. The Panthers also surrendered only three shots in the third period. Dostal finished with 29 saves for Anaheim; Markstrom made 18 for Florida, including a highlight-reel stop on Beckett Sennecke in overtime.
Forward Anton Lundell won 64.7 percent of his faceoffs and had two quotes that captured the team’s mindset. “We battled back to get the point,” Lundell said. “We’ve been in a lot of tight games. We’re comfortable in those situations, and it’s good to get comfortable on them.” He also credited Marchand’s return: “He’s a huge part of our team. He’s such a good guy on and off the ice. He’s a great player and to get that kind of boost was awesome.”
Defenseman Seth Jones led all skaters with 28:35 of ice time, while Garnet Hathaway led the team with six hits.
Head coach Paul Maurice, whose team has now trailed in three straight third periods and clawed back each time, said he liked what he saw from his group. “I think we’ve handled the third periods in games,” Maurice said. “We’ve trailed pretty well. I think we’ve given up three shots and we’re pushing pretty good there in the third period. So, I like that.”
The win extended Anaheim’s home-opener winning streak to 11 straight games, tying the NHL record shared by the Montreal Canadiens from 1953 to 1963 and the Boston Bruins from 2016 to present, according to Florida Hockey Now.
The Panthers travel to Los Angeles to face the Kings on Tuesday at 10 p.m. at Crypto Arena, with the game airing on ESPN. Florida’s home opener is scheduled for Saturday against the Minnesota Wild at 6 p.m.