Brad Marchand’s legend keeps growing with exceptional playoff run for Panthers

EDMONTON Brad Marchand is the king of taking a small window of opportunity and turning it into something much grander, but this may be his finest work yet.

Sitting one win shy of a second career Stanley Cup following a trade he never wanted to happen? Matching Mario Lemieuxs feats in a final series against the Edmonton Oilers while lining up as the Florida Panthers third-line left-winger? Transforming a frustrating, injury-plagued campaign into the kind of run that could go a long way to eventually opening the doors to the Hockey Hall of Fame? Advertisement Marchands legend grows with each passing game.

And hes done it by being unapologetically himself, pushing the Panthers to the edge of their second straight Stanley Cup celebration with two massive goals in Saturdays 5-2 win that probably couldnt have been scored by anyone else on the ice.

They were both unbelievable, but that second one, I dont know how he did that, said teammate Sam Bennett, the NHLs playoff leader with 15 goals of his own.

Im going to have to watch that clip a couple of times and ask him to teach me something.

Bradley Marchand is a Florida Panther pic.twitter.com/B5Qha03IPC Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 15, 2025 Theres a lesson in all of this for everyone: Marchand is a man who stands where his skates are.

He doesnt overthink situations or get lost in what-ifs.

Hes been the perfect fit for a Panthers team that prides itself on taking care of each day, something they did with an exclamation mark in regaining a 3-2 series lead over the Oilers less than 48 hours after blowing a three-goal lead on home ice.

It may not have happened without Marchand, who both opened the scoring and went one-on-two to bag the eventual winner.

Two moments created seemingly out of nowhere.

A pretty good nights work for a guy who didnt quite see 14 minutes of ice time.

Its those big moments when you need guys to step up, said Sam Reinhart, seated alongside Marchand at the postgame podium.

Time and time again, hes there to produce.

At that point, Marchand subtly cut him off by whispering: Thats good.

However, when asked directly by a reporter what he would have thought years ago had he been told hed join Lemieux as the only players with at least five goals in multiple Cup Finals since the end of the NHLs Original Six era, Marchand couldnt resist letting his personality show.

Advertisement Man, that guys good looking, he said.

Thatd probably be it.

Nervous? Do you think this guy is nervous? Its gonna play out the way its gonna play out, said Marchand.

Ive said it a ton of times, were just enjoying the moment.

Its a special time, special memories were gonna have forever.

Memories that have replaced any of the hurt he felt when Boston elected to deal him away at the March 7 trade deadline, rather than signing him to a deal that would allow him to retire a lifelong Bruin.

Its been a career-reviving stretch that has all but wiped away any thought of his least-productive season in a decade, one seemingly slowed by three surgeries last summer and in-season injury.

No, the 37-year-old is solely in the here and now.

Sitting here with a chance to get his hands back on the Stanley Cup as soon as Tuesday night.

Marchand has long been the master of taking the smallest window and turning it into something bigger, darting between or around opponents into the small pockets of available space.

Just look at his first goal and the way he anticipated getting to that loose puck after a faceoff, turning to the inside to catch the great Mattias Ekholm off guard and scoring that beauty.

BLIZZARD SZN!!! pic.twitter.com/ecZkS0aXyw x Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) June 15, 2025 This wasnt some kind of set play off a faceoff.

I mean, we have some plays, but that was all Marshys play, linemate Anton Lundell said.

He took the puck and did a really highlight goal.

Those are the goals you look at YouTube as a kid, and try and go out and practice yourself.

Were all pretty amazed by him.

And then there was the second goal in which Marchand flashed the speed of a 27-year-old, not a 37-year-old, outhustled the Oilers up the ice after recognizing that Eetu Luostarinen would be able to poke the puck into the neutral zone, dipsy-doodled Jake Walman just inside the blue line before finishing the gorgeous goal.

Power move by Marchy!! pic.twitter.com/BRFoXkUJil x Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) June 15, 2025 As Matthew Tkachuk told ESPN, Ive never seen that move from anybody but him.

I didnt even have the time to think.

It was just, Wow, said Lundell.

What he can do under duress in a small area is world-class, said coach Paul Maurice.

Its as good as Ive seen.

Matthew Tkachuk's reaction to Brad Marchand's second goal "OH MY GOD OH MY GOD" pic.twitter.com/87hhoAgUJv B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 15, 2025 The genius of Bill Zito adding a big-game player of Marchands pedigree is how poised Marchand is in the big moments under the most stressful situations.

Its probably also why and how, as he brags and teammates confirm, hes able to largely clean house in the high-stakes poker games on the teams flights.

Advertisement It was Marchand who introduced the Dairy Queen tradition the night before road games in the Carolina Hurricanes series.

It was largely he who made sure the Panthers had an all-team steam in the steam room at the hotel the night before Game 5.

The Panthers could have crumbled after blowing a 3-0 lead in Game 4 and suffering such a crippling overtime loss at home.

Instead, in a tight turnaround behind Marchands two goals, five shots, five others attempted and plus-3 performance, the Panthers played their most complete game of the series to put themselves a win away from a second straight title.

Marchand now has six goals in this Stanley Cup Final, the most by any player in the final round since Esa Tikkanen in 1988.

If he gets one more, hell match Wayne Gretzkys seven in 1985.

Hes the first player in history to score at least five goals in a Cup Final with two different teams.

Hes the first player in history to score five goals on the road in a Cup Final.

And his highlight-reel second goal Saturday his 13th in his Stanley Cup Final career to lead all active players was his 16th career game-winning goal in the playoffs, tying Jaromir Jagr and Patrick Marleau for the 10th-most in NHL history.

Several of Marchands 10 goals this go-around are some of the Panthers biggest goals of the playoffs.

Just think of his two overtime winners, opening Game 3 with a goal less than a minute in and his two goals out of nowhere Saturday night.

In the first game after Floridas seven playoff losses, Marchand has a point in each of them and 11 in total, plus seven goals.

He does everything, Bennett said.

Hes a guy that we follow.

Hes a natural leader, he speaks up when he needs to speak and he goes out there and does the hard work thats inspiring for guys.

We all look up to him and look to him to lead.

Hes done a fantastic job at that.

Advertisement Look, this is Floridas third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, so this team has an aura of confidence thats unmatched by most others.

Its not like without Marchand a team with guys such as Aleksander Barkov, Tkachuk, Bennett, Sam Reinhart and Aaron Ekblad would cower in a pivotal Game 5 after a bad loss in Game 4.

But when you add the presence of a cool, calm and collected player like Marchand to the mix, it just lightens things up even more in the most pressure-packed games.

He just has that passion, which you see today, Lundell said.

He decided he wanted to go there and be the difference maker, and he did that.

Unbelievable player and were all pretty amazed by him.

This is Marchands fourth Stanley Cup Final.

He won his first one with the Bruins in 2011, then lost the next two.

As he has said often during this playoff run, hes just embracing this golden opportunity he never envisioned getting three months ago.

And as hes said a few times this series, this is the loosest he has felt in some time and he feels like a young guy again.

Marchand talked earlier on Saturday about why the Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy to win, and how when it comes down to it, Were all big fans of the game.

To have these two teams playing each other and playing the way they are and games playing out the way that they have, it makes you realize why you love the game so much.

Marchands arrival in Florida truly feels like the perfect add by Zito, a GM Maurice often credits for always knowing the perfect players who will fit into the culture and style the Panthers want to play.

Thats what you need at this time of year, said Reinhart.

Everyones nervous at times and when youve got personalities like that in the room, it just settles everything down.

Were all about having fun here.

(Photo: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images).

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