At 37 years old, Florida Panthers forward Brad Marchand appears to be defying the effects of age, showing improvement even 14 years after securing his only previous Stanley Cup title. Marchand himself humorously noted on Saturday night that he believes he still possesses his youthful looks.
“Man, that guy`s good looking,” Marchand quipped with a laugh when reflecting on what his 23-year-old self, who won the Cup with the Boston Bruins in 2011 during his second NHL season, might think now.
Jokes about appearance aside, Marchand`s scoring touch has undoubtedly remained sharp, propelling him into an exclusive group within Stanley Cup Final history.
The forward, formerly captain of the Bruins and acquired by Florida at the NHL trade deadline in March, scored two goals in the Panthers` 5-2 victory over Edmonton. One of his goals was credited as the game-winner, giving Florida a 3-2 lead in the championship series. The series is set to return to Florida for Game 6 on Tuesday night.
“Like I`ve said plenty of times, trying to enjoy the moment. It`s a pretty special group to be a part of, and I`m having a lot of fun,” Marchand commented. He has accumulated 10 goals during this postseason run, with six of them coming in the Final. He added, “It`s just how it plays out sometimes. Sometimes you get bounces. Sometimes you don`t.”
However, luck had little to do with Marchand`s goals in Saturday`s game. Both were the result of determined rushes towards the net, where he muscled past defenders.
Marchand`s opening goal came 9:12 into the first period. He quickly seized a loose puck following a center-ice faceoff, drove past defender Mattias Ekholm, and slipped the puck through the legs of goaltender Calvin Pickard.
His second goal extended the lead to 3-0 about five minutes into the third period. Marchand skated up the left wing, bypassed Jake Walman, and buried a backhand shot under Pickard, which stood as the game-deciding tally.
With these goals, he became the 18th player, and the oldest, to score six times in a single Final series, a feat not accomplished since Esa Tikkanen of Edmonton in 1988. Furthermore, having previously scored five goals in Boston`s 2011 Cup-winning series against Vancouver, Marchand joined the legendary Mario Lemieux as only the second player in the last half-century to score five or more goals in multiple Stanley Cup Finals.
