Some of the notable commerce deadline additions has but to debut along with his new group. When the Panthers made a last-second transfer to accumulate Bruins star winger Brad Marchand on March 7, the Boston captain was nursing an upper-body damage sustained the weekend prior. He’s been sometimes working towards along with his new group as he nears a return to play, which Florida head coach Paul Maurice mentioned might be Friday’s sport in opposition to Utah, through team reporter Jameson Olive.
It’s not a set deal, and there received’t be a transaction prefacing it as Marchand isn’t on injured reserve. He final performed on March 1, when a success from Penguins defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph despatched him awkwardly into the boards after which to the locker room.
“He has been on the ice for slightly bit now,” Maurice told reporters. “That is in all probability the benefit to 4 days (off) in that we do not lose one other sport. We’ll get him by means of a full observe (Thursday) and make an evaluation. However we’re capturing for Friday in opposition to Utah proper now.”
Earlier than the damage and subsequent commerce, Marchand had his worst offensive marketing campaign in a decade. In fact, the ever-consistent winger was nonetheless on tempo for a decent 63 factors, not an enormous drop-off from final 12 months’s 67 and nearly to be anticipated given Boston’s common offensive struggles this season. He’s nonetheless a bona fide top-six ahead, particularly on a Florida group that’s needed to deploy names like depth pivot Jesper Boqvist and rookie Mackie Samoskevich in second-line roles as of late with Marchand and Matthew Tkachuk on the shelf. Whether or not he will get a glance on the highest line with Aleksander Barkov stays to be seen, however on the very least, he ought to slot in because the Cats’ second-line left wing alongside Sam Bennett — a duo of pests that may doubtless land Tkachuk on the best aspect when he’s ready to return.
“We’re not jamming these guys again on their first out there day,” Maurice continued. “We’re not bringing them in early. If (Marchand) says he desires a couple of extra days, we’re good with that.”
Some excellent news on the damage entrance is a welcome change of tempo for the Panthers, who’ve additionally had their blue line decimated by a suspension to Aaron Ekblad and an injury to Dmitry Kulikov. They’ve gone 3-4-0 of their final seven in consequence, dropping again right into a tie with the Maple Leafs for first place within the Atlantic Division — a tiebreaker that Toronto at present holds with 4 extra wins in regulation and extra time. They’re scoring 2.29 targets per sport over that stretch, far under their season common of three.23.
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