Before the Florida Panthers get to feel the energy inside Amerant Bank Arena for the first time this season, they’ll have to experience another team’s home opener Tuesday night when they visit the Los Angeles Kings to conclude a season-opening four-game road trip.
Brad Marchand recovered sooner than expected from offseason surgery, and the veteran forward took the ice against the Ducks, scoring a late 6-on-5 goal to send the game to overtime.
Florida faced another young, fast team riled up for their first home game Sunday and again rallied late, pushing the Anaheim Ducks to overtime before losing 3-2. The veteran center reportedly will miss 10 to 12 weeks. “It probably builds character for us and a good challenge for us, obviously. Other teams going to come out, bring their best, and be skating and flying around. Team captain Aleksander Barkov suffered a leg injury against the Sharks and was placed on long-term injured reserve. “The speed of the game and the intensity definitely ramped up at times, but it was great to be back out there. It’s going to take some time to get the timing and everything back, and conditioning back, but it was incredible being back out there and being part of the team again. “They know I’m just getting back, and it’s been almost six months since I played a game and only been skating for a month now. “We’re chasing the game a little bit. I thought that there was a ton of fight in the end . I really liked the way we played the overtime, and I hate the result. So, lots of things that we did well but, you know, we’re still early in the season. We’re working on things out there as well to get better at.”
“Anytime you do three home openers in a row, it’s obviously tough,” Florida forward Carter Verhaeghe said. “It was a bit of a rude awakening,” Marchand said. “We had a few looks, but it’s tough for those guys,” said Marchand, who had been out since March 6. “It’s tough,” Kings coach Peter Laviolette said.
