Florida Panthers: Lines, Updates, Preview for March 11 Game vs. Boston Bruins
Brad Marchand returns to Boston — but remains out of the lineup with an injury — as the Florida Panthers take on the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night.
While Brad Marchand will not be playing in tonight’s game, he still got a chance to take the ice at TD Garden and say his goodbyes as the Florida Panthers take on the Boston Bruins.
It will be an emotional day for him.
The 36-year-old forward spent 16 years in Boston, won a Stanley Cup there in 2011 and finished his Bruins career ranked in the Top 5 in goals, points
“I had an incredible run in that organization, and I’m extremely proud of how things went there,” Marchand said. “It was very disappointing that things didn’t get done just because I love the organization and I wanted to stay there.”
Marchand was very emotional talking about his departure from Boston — a place he envisioned himself winning another Stanley Cup with and spending the rest of his career — but he harbors no ill will towards the organization for making the decision.
“They have a job to do and they have to make the best decisions for the team. And I completely understand where the decisions need to be made. Sometimes, they work against you.”
Marchand will be on hand in Boston to get some much-needed — and much-deserved — closure. Even if he won’t be on the ice in the game to do so, as he is still listed as “week-to-week” with an injury he sustained on March 1.
“It’s not just your average trade,” coach Paul Maurice said. “This a player that was the fabric of the team and a storied franchise that has had very few captains over the years. This is a big, big deal and it needs to be respected.
“And he does a brilliant job. He is incredibly honest when he speaks. I really, really like some of the interviews I’ve seen. He’s a very, very honest man and he’s emotional and it should be respected and revered, how important he was to that team. There was a change, and there’s been a handful of elite players like Brad that left their team after being captain. It’s a big deal.”
THE NEWS
Sergei Bobrovsky will start in net for the Panthers tonight.
Aaron Ekblad will be unavailable for the remainder of the regular season and two playoff games due to a suspension for violating the NHL/NHLPA’s performance enhancing substances policy.
Seth Jones moves up to the top pair and the top power play unit with Ekblad out of the lineup.
Brad Marchand joined the Panthers for morning skate at TD Garden, but is still considered “week-to-week” as he begins his rehab process with the Panthers.
Tonight’s game will start at 7:00 p.m. EST and will be broadcasted on Scripps Sports and Panthers Plus. Out-of-market viewers in the United States can stream the game on ESPN+.
For more information on how to catch Panthers games this season, visit nhl.com/panthers/info/how-to-watch.
FLORIDA PANTHERS PROJECTED LINEUP
Presented by William Raveis Real Estate
Carter Verhaeghe — Aleksander Barkov — Sam Reinhart
Mackie Samoskevich — Sam Bennett — Evan Rodrigues
Eetu Luostarinen — Anton Lundell — Jesper Boqvist
A.J. Greer — Nico Sturm — Tomas Nosek
Gustav Forsling — Seth Jones
Niko Mikkola — Dmitry Kulikov
Nate Schmidt — Uvis Balinskis
Sergei Bobrovsky
Vitek Vanecek
Scratched: Jonah Gadjovich
Suspended: Aaron Ekblad
Injured: Matthew Tkachuk (LTIR), Brad Marchand (upper-body injury)
BOSTON BRUINS PROJECTED LINEUP
Morgan Geekie — Pavel Zacha — David Pastrnak
Cole Koepke — Casey Mittlestadt — Vinny Lettieri
Marat Kushnutdinov — Elias Lindholm — Jakub Lauko
John Beecher — Mark Kastelic — Patrick Brown
Nikita Zadorov — Henri Jokiharju
Mason Lohrei — Andrew Peeke
Parker Wotherspoon — Ian Mitchell
Jeremy Swayman
Joonas Korpisalo
(Lines via DailyFaceoff.com)
*Opposing team lines subject to change.