How Brad Marchand Reacted To Getting Back To Stanley Cup Final

For the fourth time in his NHL career, Brad Marchand will play for the Stanley Cup. However, this is the first time he’ll do so without a Bruins sweater.

The Florida Panthers completed the gentlemen’s sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night with a 5-3 win in Game 5 to earn their third consecutive Stanley Cup Final berth. Now, Marchand and his new mates will try to become the first team since the 2017 Pittsburgh Penguins to win back-to-back championships.

The decision to trade for Marchand has been a shrewd one for Florida. The Panthers acquired the longtime Bruins winger on deadline day, knowing he wouldn’t be ready to play right away due to injury. He’s been as advertised since getting back on the ice, though. He has played in all 17 Panthers playoff games with four goals in 10 assists while also playing his unique brand of intangible-heavy hockey.

“It’s special. When you’ve been around for a while, you realize how few opportunities you have to be part of something like this,” Marchand told TNT’s Jackie Redmond in a postgame on-ice interview. “Just enjoying every moment, grateful for the opportunity, and you’re right, definitely didn’t expect to be here in this jersey, but I’m very happy I am.”

It is truly hard to fathom that Marchand, who just a year ago was on the other side of a bitter Panthers-Bruins rivalry and who started this season as captain of the B’s, is now going to the Cup Final with Florida. Clearly, he and anyone else in the Panthers dressing room put any lingering bad feelings behind them, as Marchand has been a wonderful fit for Paul Maurice’s team.

Even when things weren’t going well for Florida in Game 5 — the Panthers dug themselves an early 2-0 hole — the club was able to dig deep and draw on past experiences to stay the course.

“We’re comfortable in these situations,” Marchand told reporters after the game. “The guys in this room have been here in many different situations and been up and down. When you’ve been through it before and have gone all the way, you see the different way momentum swings can happen throughout a game and how you can take advantage of that.”

The Panthers did just that Wednesday night and now have a chance to defend their Cup. It’s looking like it will be a rematch of last year’s Final, too, with Edmonton holding a 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference finals. The Oilers will look to close out the Dallas Stars on Thursday night.

Regardless of how that series shakes out, Marchand and the Panthers — who were noticeably subdued in their postgame celebration — know there’s still one massive hill left to climb.

“We’re excited we got through the round, but that’s where it stops,” he added. “Obviously, there’s the toughest team we’re going to face is coming up next. If you don’t do the job there, you didn’t win anything. We’re excited, but it’s just like any other round; there’s a huge job to do moving forward and we have to prepare for that now.”