Marchand: Emotional return to Boston, ovation and tears in the Garden.

The “Little Ball of Hate” still feels a lot of affection for Boston. Brad Marchand, visibly emotional, struggled to hold back tears on the ice when the TD Garden crowd gave him a standing ovation during his first game as a Bruins rival. The 37-year-old forward touched his heart, wiped his face, and saluted the crowd, while both teams tapped their sticks against the ice and even the referee and linesmen applauded. I knew it was going to affect me the way it did. It was extremely moving. The Bruins will always have a very, very special place in my heart. Marchand, the last remaining member of the Boston team that won the Stanley Cup in 2011, was traded from the Bruins, who were not competing for the title, to the Panthers last season to have another chance to win a championship. He helped Florida complete their quest for consecutive championships, while Boston fell to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

I left, turned the page and found something really special again, which I am very, very proud and blessed to be a part of. And I chose to be a part of it again. I built something really special with every guy on this team last year, with the victory. You build a bond that will last a lifetime. So I try not to show any disrespect in that way, as if I wasn’t grateful, because I am.

Brad Marchand

Marchand, who signed a new contract with the Panthers in the offseason for six years and around $32 million, added:

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

Brad Marchand

Marchand first experienced the warm welcome he would receive when the crowd cheered him after the pre-game warmups, as the DJ played a medley of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver. The former Bruins captain responded with a stick salute as he headed to the visitors’ bench.

The fans wearing Marchand’s number 63 jerseys from Boston and Florida cheered again during the introductions, then booed when he received a tripping penalty 33 seconds into the game. “I knew it wouldn’t take long,” he said with a smile. There was a mixed reaction when the Panthers scored on the power play, a goal that initially appeared to be Marchand’s, but was credited to Mackie Samoskevich; Marchand got his first assist. But emotions overflowed during the first commercial break, halfway through the first period, when the scoreboard showed a summary of Marchand’s moments in Boston, including images of him being anointed with the “C” of captain that he wore for just over a full season. It ended with a photo of him holding the Stanley Cup and the message: “Welcome back, Marchy”. Marchand skated around the Panthers’ bench, saluting the fans and holding his heart. His face betrayed his emotions as he took his place on the bench, still on the verge of collapse, and the crowd chanted his name.

Those tears are real. He just wears his heart on his sleeve. He had a lot of great moments here, won a Stanley Cup here. He’ll always be a Bruin at heart.

Paul Maurice, Florida coach

Marchand said he was able to control himself for the most part until his children appeared on the scoreboard.

It was like a ton of bricks hit me. Careers go by fast. No matter how long you’re in, it goes by extremely fast. And to see a snapshot of that, it brings it all back. The amount of pride I have to have played here and to be a part of this organization, I just couldn’t contain it.

Brad Marchand

Attention soon returned to hockey, with the Panthers taking a 2-0 lead in the second period. Marchand received a penalty for grabbing, which drew cheers from the crowd, and assisted on the goal that gave Florida a 3-2 lead with 1:31 remaining. The Bruins tied it again before Carter Verhaeghe put the Panthers ahead for good with 27 seconds left to play.

He had many good memories in this building, and he has been part of this franchise for so long. So it’s good, like sitting back and being part of history a little bit. He’s a great guy and we’re very fortunate to have him. I can only imagine what it meant to the city and to the fans.

Carter Verhaeghe

Marchand, a four-time All-Star, who scored 422 goals and 554 assists in 16 seasons in Boston, remains among the Bruins’ top 10 in goals, assists, shorthanded goals, overtime goals, playoff goals, and points. His 1,090 games played are fourth in team history, one spot ahead of Don Sweeney, the general manager who traded him to Florida at the trade deadline. Marchand did play at TD Garden as a visitor in February when he wore the Canada uniform in the 4 Nations Face-Off; although he was still a member of the Bruins, Boston fans booed him during a moment of heightened geopolitical animosity between the United States and Canada. He was traded to Florida a few weeks later, when Boston 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 during practice.