‘Extremely touching’: Marchand returns to Boston as an opponent with standing ovation, cheers

Brad Marchand struggled to hold back tears during a standing ovation Tuesday night during his first game back as a Bruins opponent.

BOSTON — The Little Ball of Hate still feels a lot of love for Boston.

Brad Marchand struggled to hold back tears on the ice when the TD Garden crowd gave him a standing ovation Tuesday night during his first game back as a Bruins opponent. The 37-year-old forward tapped his heart, wiped his face and waved to the crowd as both teams banged their sticks against the ice and even the referee and linesmen clapped along.

“I knew it was going to hit me the way it did. It was extremely touching,” Marchand said after the game, a 4-3 Panthers victory in which he had two assists. “The Bruins will always hold a very, very dear place in my heart.”

The last remaining member of Boston’s 2011 Stanley Cup-winning team, Marchand was traded from the non-contending Bruins to the Panthers last season for another chance at a title. He helped Florida complete its pursuit of back-to-back championships, while Boston plummeted to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

“I left and I turned the page and I found something truly special again that I’m very, very proud and blessed to be part of. And I chose to be part of again,” said Marchand, who re-signed with the Panthers in the offseason to a six-year deal worth about $32 million.

“I built something really special with every guy on this team last year, with winning. You build a bond that will last a lifetime. So I try not to show any disrespect in that way, as if I’m not grateful, because I am.

“But I’ve been here for several months. I’ve been in Boston for 15 years,” he said. “When you go from being a kid, with a dream, and then you grow up and you have a family, you become a man and you build an entire life in a city, it’s just different. Of course, it’ll always be in my heart and always be a special place.”

Marchand got his first taste of the welcome he would receive when the crowd cheered him off the ice after the pregame warmups, as the DJ played a mashup of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” The former Bruins captain responded with a stick salute as he headed off via the visitor’s bench.

Fans wearing Marchand’s Boston and Florida No. 63 jerseys cheered again during introductions, then booed when he drew a tripping penalty just 33 seconds into the game. “I knew it wouldn’t take long,” he said with a chuckle.

There was a mixed reaction when the Panthers scored on the power play — a goal that first appeared to be Marchand’s but was credited to Mackie Samoskevich; Marchand picked up his first assist.

But things got really emotional during the first commercial break, midway through the first period, when the scoreboard showed a highlight reel from Marchand’s time in Boston — including shots of him being anointed with the captain’s “C” that he wore for a little more than one full season. It ended with a picture of him holding the Stanley Cup and the message, “Welcome back, Marchy.”

Marchand circled in front of the Panthers bench, waving to the fans and holding his heart. His face betrayed his emotions as he took his place on the bench, still on the verge of breaking down, and the crowd chanted his name.

“Those tears are real,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said during an in-game interview on the TV broadcast. “He just wears his heart on his sleeve. He had so many great moments here, won a Stanley Cup here. He’ll always be a Bruin at heart.”

Marchand said he was able to mostly hold it together until his kids were shown on the scoreboard.

“It kind of hit like a ton of bricks,” he said. “The careers go by fast. It doesn’t matter how long you’re in, it goes by extremely fast. And to see a snapshot of that, it brings everything back. The amount of pride that I have that I played here and was part of this organization, I just couldn’t hold it in.”

The focus soon returned to hockey, with the Panthers taking a 2-0 lead in the second period. Marchand picked up a hooking penalty, drawing cheers from the crowd, and assisted on the goal that gave Florida a 3-2 lead with 1:31 left.

The Bruins tied it again before Carter Verhaeghe put the Panthers up for good with 27 seconds to play.

But the lasting memories will be of Marchand.

“He had so many good memories in this building, and he’s been a part of this franchise for so long. So it’s just good kind of sit back and be a part of history a little bit,” Verhaeghe said. “He’s such a great guy and we’re so lucky to have him. I can only imagine what he meant to the city and to the fans.”

A four-time All-Star who had 422 goals and 554 assists in 16 seasons in Boston, Marchand remains in the Bruins’ top 10 for goals, assists, short-handed and overtime goals, playoff goals and points. His 1,090 games played is fourth in team history, one spot ahead of Don Sweeney, the general manager who dealt him to Florida at the trade deadline.

Marchand did play in the TD Garden as a visitor in February when he suited up for Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off; although he was still a member of the Bruins, the Boston fans booed him during a time of heightened geopolitical animosity between the U.S. and Canada.

He was traded to Florida a few weeks later as Boston sold off its roster and began a rebuild. But when the Panthers visited for the Bruins’ first home game after the trade deadline, Marchand was injured and only skated on the Garden ice in practice.

By Jimmy Golen