“When I walked into the room the other day, I literally had flashbacks,” even Brad Marchand sounded surprised when he admitted that his first experience of the Panthers’ locker room didn’t feel altogether alien. However, being traded to Florida after 16 seasons with the Bruins was still a hurt he couldn’t forget entirely. Be that as it may, at least he’s giving his new teammates a lot to be happy about.

The 2025 Stanley Cup Finals are in full motion, and the defending champs aren’t in the best place they could be. Trailing the Edmonton 1-0 in the best-of-7 series, the Florida Panthers desperately need a win to get back on level terms. And tonight, at Rogers Place during Game 2, Brad Marchand once again rose up to the occasion. And with that, fond memories came rushing in.

B/R Open Ice‘s X post from June 6 shared one uncanny detail regarding Marchand’s goal from today’s match, which put the Florida Panthers in the driver’s seat by the end of the second period. “June 6, 2011: Brad Marchand scores a shorthanded goal in the Stanley Cup Final June 6, 2025: Brad Marchand scores a shorthanded goal in the Stanley Cup Final,” the post notes.

Thanks to Brad’s goal, with a pass from Anton Lundell at 12:09, to put the puck past Stuart Skinner, the Cats are now up 4-3 ahead in the third and final period. Truth be told, the Panthers looked the more eager squad from the beginning. And tonight’s match was right up there with some of the best playoff action you’ve ever seen, that’s for sure.

However, while the game was incredible, Marchand’s first goal of the night was probably even better. It gave the Panthers, albeit a short-lived, lead over the hosts, and showed that the Cats are also able to stage a comeback like the Oilers. In the first game of the series, Edmonton, despite trailing 3-1 going into the third period, came back from behind in a triumphant manner to run away with a 4-3 victory.

In the process, Kris Knoblauch’s boys also halted Paul Maurice’s pristine 31-0 streak of winning games while being in lead at the end of the first or second periods in playoffs. But it looked like Brad Marchand was determined not to let his new boss down tonight. With his latest goal, the winger now has 17 points to his name this postseason, behind only Sam Bennett (19), and tied with Matthew Tkachuk and team captain Aleksander Barkov. Not bad for his debut run with the Cats, huh?

Tonight, though, irrespective of where they stand in the points table, all of the Florida Panthers members banded together for a nail-biting finish to Game 2.

Brad Marchand’s efforts didn’t go to vain

Sam Bennett, keeping up with his exquisite playoff form so far, opened the scoring of the night when he sent the puck flying past Stuart Skinner at 2:07 of the first period. In the first game of the Stanley Cup Finals, Bennett scored twice, making him the highest goalscorer of all time for the Panthers in the playoffs. And yet, it was his alleged interference with Stuart Skinner’s play that annoyed Kris Knoblauch.

But that didn’t stop Sam from scoring again tonight and extending his portfolio further. But shadows from the previous game did lurk overhead. Right after Seth Jones scored the Panthers’ second of the night, Bennett took a goalie interference penalty on the play at 12:13 for bumping into the Oilers’ goalie, which Leon Draisaitl made the most of by giving Edmonton a 3-2 advantage ahead of the second period.

Dmitry Kulikov managed to tie things in the second period, only for Brad Marchand to get his own shot at the net. Once again, it felt like Paul Maurice’s postseason record could bounce back from the setback it suffered in Game 1. Corey Perry had a different idea. With just 17.8 seconds left on the clock, Perry brought the Oilers to an even position to send the game to OT. But Marchand should be thanking him.

After all, the 37-year-old got his second goal of the night in the second OT period to bring an end to the thriller. And with that, Brad also blitzed into the history books once again! That’s what we call winning a game in style. But will the momentum work its magic as Game 3 heads back to Amerant Bank Arena, the home of the defending champions? Tell us what you think in the comments.