RECAP: Florida Panthers 2, Utah Hockey Club 1 (OT)
Brad Marchand picked up an assist on the overtime winner in his Florida Panthers debut.
SUNRISE, Fla. — Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett connected for the overtime winner in the former Boston superstar’s Panthers debut in a 2-1 Florida victory over the Utah Hockey Club.
Marchand found Bennett in the slot with just over 40 seconds left in overtime and Bennett finished the play off with a backhand shot for the winner.
The Panthers jumped back into first place in the Atlantic Division with the victory. They currently sit one point ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs for the top seed with the Tampa Bay Lightning sitting two points back in third. All three teams have 10 games remaining on their schedule.
Bennett tapped in an Aleksander Barkov feed on the power play 2:28 into the second period to give the Panthers the lead.
Florida had three more power plays in the second period but could not capitalize on any of them.
After a slow first period where they were outshot 6-5 by Utah, the Panthers dominated the second period, leading 13-3 in shots.
Sean Durzi tied the game up with a quick goal off the rush 1:55 into the third period.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 13 of the 14 shots he faced in the Florida victory.
The Panthers will close out their three-game home-stand with a Sunday matinee matchup with the Montreal Canadiens.