SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Brad Marchand capped an emotional night by getting what became the winning goal in a shootout, and the Florida Panthers beat the Dallas Stars 4-3 on Saturday night.
Marchand got a tribute score
, Sam Reinhart got a milestone one and Sam Bennett also scored for the Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 20 shots, six of them in overtime — and five in the final 61 seconds of the extra period.Marchand scored in his first game back after
returning to his native Nova Scotia to pay tribute to a friend's 10-year-old daughter who lost her battle with cancer, and Reinhart got the 300th goal of his career.
Mikko Rantanen scored with 2:42 left in regulation to tie the game for Dallas, which got three assists from Sam Steel — who had two points all season entering Saturday, then had the first three-assist game of his career.
Justin Kyrckowian got his first NHL goal and Wyatt Johnston also scored for Dallas, both of those tallies coming 14 seconds apart during what was to be a 4-minute power play in the second period.
It was the first time the teams met since playing twice in Finland last season; Saturday was the one-year anniversary of the first of those games, and the second matchup there was a year ago Sunday.
Dallas hadn't played at Sunrise since Dec. 6, 2023. Among some of the developments since Dallas' last visit to Florida:
— The Panthers won two Stanley Cups.
— The Stars changed coaches from Peter DeBoer to Glen Gulutzan.
— The Arizona Coyotes visited the Panthers. The Coyotes ceased operations in 2024 and last played at Florida on Jan. 24, 2024, seven weeks before Dallas' most recent appearance before Saturday.
And of the 40 players who were part of the most recent Dallas-Florida game in Sunrise, only 18 took the ice on Saturday.
Stars: Host Edmonton on Tuesday.
Panthers: Visit Anaheim on Tuesday.
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