Brad Marchand and the Panthers rip the hearts out of the Bruins once again

When a team has your number, they have your number. That was the case again for the Boston Bruins against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night at the TD Garden.

It was Brad Marchand's return to Boston for the first time as a player since the trade last March at the trade deadline that sent him to South Florida. There was an emotional tribute during the first TV timeout, but by then, Marchand had made his mark.

In the first 1:01 of the game, he drew a penalty and assisted on a Mackie Samoskevich power play goal. Before the night was over, Marchand would have a big hand in the Panthers once again ripping the hearts out of the Bruins with an incredible win.

Trailing 2-0 after two periods, the Bruins rallied to tie the game with two early third-period goals, only to have Marchand send Eetu Luostarinen in on a breakaway to give Florida a 3-2 lead midway through the final period. Morgan Geekie tied the game with 1:31 left, and the game appeared headed to overtime. Until disaster struck.

Carter Verhaeghe took a shot with 26 seconds left that hit the post, but the puck deflected off of Boston defenseman Andrew Peeke and went into the net for a 4-3 Panthers lead that turned into a win.

Florida continues to rip the hearts out of the Bruins

Since the stunning first-round elimination of the Bruins in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Bruins have simply struggled against the Panthers. Whether it be in the regular season or the playoffs, you just feel that Florida will eventually find a way to win and do it in heartbreaking fashion.

That was the case on Tuesday night. Marchand finished with two assists, and former Bruins forward A.J. Greer got into the fun with a second-period goal. It was just another frustrating night for the 2025-26 Boston Bruins.

Both teams entered the game on four-game losing streaks, and it was only fitting that Florida won the game, Marchand had a big hand in it, and they scored an unlikely goal with less than 30 seconds left to win the game. All the hard work went for not again early in the season for the Black and Gold.