Mar 28, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Brad Marchand (63) moves the puck against the Utah Hockey Club during the second period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/7fc724c8-2253-4266-b480-715ec6db1b2b.jpeg] Mar 28, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Brad Marchand (63) moves the puck against the Utah Hockey Club during the second period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images) The Florida Panthers have been racking up the points on home ice. Friday’s 2-1 overtime victory against the Utah Hockey Club was Florida’s seventh straight at Amerant Bank Arena. While the Panthers did control much of the puck possession, there will be plenty for the coaching staff to pick apart when they go through the video. Now that the Cats are getting back into a more traditional schedule, we’ll see if they can start building some consistency as the playoffs draw closer by the day. Let’s get to Friday’s takeaways: TOUGH WIN AGAINST DESPERATE TEAM Utah hasn’t been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention yet, but being 10 points out with 10 games to go is a near impossible mountain to climb. Still, Utah had something to fight for entering Friday’s game, and boy did they. The Hockey Club played well enough to keep the Panthers off their game for segments of Friday’s contest, forcing the Cats to the final minute of overtime before they finally pulled out the two points. “It was a hard-fought game, they played really well,” said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “They didn't give up a whole lot. They had to work for it. We didn't give up a lot, but Sergei (Bobrovsky) still had to make about three really, really good saves, because they’ve got shooters on their team. So I'm reasonably pleased with the win.” QUICK TWEAK TO MARCHAND LINE Much of the spotlight on Friday night was focused squarely on Brad Marchand, and rightly so. The veteran forward made his Panthers debut after a stunning deal at the NHL Trade Deadline sent Marchand to Florida. Skating on a line with Sam Bennett and Mackie Samoskevich, the group seemed to pick up steam as the game progressed. There was something not-so-subtle that Maurice did with the line that may have helped pour a little gasoline on the fire. “He makes a lot of small area plays in traffic and in corners that that are really hard to do, and his hands are fantastic,” Maurice said of Marchand. “I thought in the third period, when he went back over to the left and Samoskevich came to the right, that line got a little faster. It's a little easier on the breakout, you don't have people going the other way. It was a good start and gives us a little different look.” BOB STANDS TALL Friday’s win was the seventh in nine starts for Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky this month. The veteran netminder has been playing lights out, and the game against Utah is a prime example of what make Bob so unique. Florida played an excellent defensive game against Utah, mainly by possessing the puck a ton and limiting their zone time to a fraction of what the Cats’ did. Bobrovsky ended up facing only 14 shots on goal, but four of them were high danger shots, and Bob stopped each one of those. “It is so hard to do what Sergei has done in a lot of the games where we've really suppressed the shot total, and we've had blocks of time where the other team doesn't get a lot, to stay mentally sharp,” said Maurice. “It’s very challenging.” LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Brad Marchand speaks on Panthers debut, excitement level to join team building 'something special' [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/players/brad-marchand-speaks-on-panthers-debut-excitement-level-to-join-team-building-something-special] Bennett scores twice, Marchand picks up OT assist as Panthers defeat Utah 2-1 [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/bennett-scores-twice-marchand-picks-up-ot-assist-as-panthers-defeat-utah-2-1] The Hockey Show: Ovechkin's classy move, Frozen Four and This Is SportsCenter spots with John Buccigross [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/the-hockey-show-ovechkins-classy-move-frozen-four-and-this-is-sportscenter-spots-with-john-buccigross] Panthers aim for 7th straight home win, host Utah Hockey Club for first time [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-aim-for-7th-straight-home-win-host-utah-hockey-club-for-first-time] Practice Notebook: Marchand trending toward Panthers debut, updates on Tkachuk, Kulikov [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/practice-notebook-marchand-trending-toward-panthers-debut-updates-on-tkachuk-kulikov]
