Brad Marchand ignited the Panthers, netting two goals, including the overtime clincher, in his triumphant return from injury against Minnesota.
The Florida Panthers continued their recent run of strong play on the road when they visited the Twin Cities on Saturday night.
Once again, the game required more than 60 minutes, but it was a super return by Brad Marchand that helped propel the Cats to an exciting 4-3 overtime victory over the Minnesota Wild.
Florida got the scoring started fairly early, when Sam Reinhart scored his team-leading 25 h goal of the season, banging home a rebounds off an Aaron Ekblad point shot at the 6:44 mark.
About two and a half minutes later, with A.J. Greer in the box for tripping, Kirill Kaprizov received credit for a goal when his attempted cross-zone pass went off the glove of Aaron Ekblad and underneath Sergei Bobrovsky.
The Cats were able to take their lead back before the intermission thanks to a late-period tripping call on Jake Middleton.
Playing for the first time in weeks after missing seven games with an injury, the aforementioned Marchand took the puck off the boards and drove to the slot, sending a nasty backhand from between the circles past Filip Gustavsson to put the Panthers back in front with 1:40 to go in the period.
Minnesota again tied the game early in the second, and again it came while they were up a man.
With Greer back in the box on a questionable holding call, Bobrovksy stopped a grade-A chance off the stick of Kirill Kaprizov only to see Joel Eriksson Ek slam home the rebound 4:33 into the middle frame.
A Panthers power play midway through the third period would produce some fireworks for both squads.
First, a Matt Boldy converted on a shorthanded breakaway, beating Bobrovsky over the glove to give Minnesota their first lead of the game at the 12:09 mark.
Just 62 seconds later, with Florida still on the power play, a clearing attempt by the Wild went off Marchand’s shin and bounced to Matthew Tkachuk in the slot. He quickly guided the puck to Sam Bennett, who deposited a shot behind Gustavsson to knot the score right back up.
Florida struggled at the start of overtime, not possessing the puck well into the extra session’s third minute, but once the Cats got the puck on their stick, it didn’t take long for them to send the Wild fans home unsatisfied.
Carter Verhaeghe picked up the puck after it was fumbled by Matt Boldy in the Panthers’ end, quickly turning into an odd-man rush with Verhaeghe and Marchand flying toward the Wild zone.
With Boldy on his back, Verhaeghe waited until Hughes finally committed toward him and sent a perfect backhand pass to a wide-open Marchand, and his quick forehand beat Gustavsson’s blocker to the near post, ending the game and giving the Panthers a second straight win on their three-game road trip.
On to Chicago.
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Photo caption: Jan 24, 2026; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Florida Panthers left wing Brad Marchand (63) shoots and scores against the Minnesota Wild in the first period at Grand Casino Arena. (Matt Blewett-Imagn Images)