Florida Panthers forward Brad Marchand drew praise from his teammates after a clutch two-goal performance in Friday's Game 2 win over the Edmonton Oilers, capped by the double-overtime winner.
"He just finds a way," defenseman Nate Schmidt said following the Panthers' series-tying victory, according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. "I don't think the moment ever gets too big for him."
Marchand leads all active players with 10 career goals in the Stanley Cup Final, including three through two games this postseason. His heroics Friday came 14 years to the day after he netted his first Cup Final goal in Game 3 of the 2011 Final versus the Vancouver Canucks.
Roberto Luongo, the Canucks' goaltender in that 2011 series and now a special advisor in Florida's front office, posted on X following the contest that Marchand is his "favorite player of all time."
The Panthers acquired Marchand from the Boston Bruins before the trade deadline, ending his 16-year tenure with the Bruins.
Florida star forward Matthew Tkachuk said he believes the 37-year-old veteran shows no signs of slowing down.
"He could play until he's 47 the way he's going," Tkachuk said, according to NHL.com's Nicholas J. Cotsonika. "Unreal player, unreal competitor, and he's scored, when you think about it, two of our biggest goals in the playoffs so far, so hopefully he can keep it going."
Tkachuk also lauded Marchand's skill set and intelligence.
"Playoffs aside, I think his best strength as a player, like he's really skilled, hard on pucks, wants the puck, but his anticipation and his just being in the right spots and his hockey sense, it's unbelievable," Tkachuk said, according to The Athletic.
"You see it tonight, two breakaway goals, just seeing a play, seeing it go to a player, and he's gone and gets an unbelievable chance. I saw that a ton from him in Boston, and it's way better seeing it here."
Tkachuk added that Florida kept the locker room light despite the Oilers' dramatic tying goal in the final minute of the third period.
"It was the opposite of what you guys probably thought was going on in the locker room," Tkachuk said, per Cotsonika. "We were upbeat, joking around, picking guys who we thought were going to score. We were having some fun."
