At 37 years old, Florida Panthers forward Brad Marchand appears to be improving with age, 14 years after lifting his first and only Stanley Cup. As Marchand playfully remarked on Saturday night, some might even suggest he still maintains his youthful appearance.
“Man, that guy`s good looking,” Marchand quipped with a chuckle when reflecting on what his 23-year-old self might think about winning the Cup in his second NHL season with the Boston Bruins back in 2011.
Jokes about looks aside, Marchand`s scoring ability remains consistently impressive, positioning him among the greats in Stanley Cup Final history.
The former Bruins captain, who joined Florida at the NHL trade deadline in March, netted two goals, including the decisive game-winner, in a 5-2 victory over Edmonton. This win gives the Panthers a 3-2 lead in the Cup Final series as it heads back to Florida for Game 6 on Tuesday night.
“Like I`ve said many times, I`m trying to soak in the moment. It`s a truly special group to be a part of, and I`m really enjoying myself,” stated Marchand, who has accumulated 10 goals throughout this postseason, with six scored during the Final. “Sometimes that`s just how things unfold. You get lucky bounces sometimes, and other times you don`t.”
Marchand`s goals on Saturday night were less about luck and more about determination, as both were a result of him driving hard to the net, overpowering defenders along the way.
He opened the scoring 9:12 into the game by seizing a loose puck from a center-ice faceoff, pushing past defenseman Mattias Ekholm, and slipping the puck between the legs of goaltender Calvin Pickard.
Marchand then extended the lead to 3-0 about five minutes into the third period. He skated hard up the left wing, bypassed Jake Walman, and beat Pickard with a backhand shot that ultimately stood as the game-winning goal.
With these goals, he became the 18th player – and the oldest – to score six times in a single Final series, the first since Edmonton`s Esa Tikkanen achieved the feat in 1988. Furthermore, Marchand, who also scored five goals in Boston`s 2011 Cup-winning Final series against Vancouver, joins Mario Lemieux as only the second player in the last 50 years to score five or more goals in multiple Stanley Cup Finals.