Marchand had missed the first two games of the season for the Panthers (1-0-2) while recovering from offseason surgery he had for an unspecified injury.
"Obviously, (the injury) progressed a little faster than expected," Marchand said.
"It was a bit of a rude awakening. The speed of the game and the intensity definitely ramped up at times, but it was great to be back out there. It's going to take some time to get the timing and everything back, and conditioning back, but it was incredible being back out there and being part of the team again."
Marchand played on a line with Brady Tkachuk and Sam Reinhart. He finished the game with three shots and a plus-1 rating in 13:10 of ice time.
"The potential is there for sure. They're both incredible players and both make good plays," he said. "We had a few looks tonight, but it's tough for those guys. They know I'm just getting back, and it's been almost six months since I played a game and only been skating for a month now. So, I kind of bring them down a little bit, just with my timing and the speed and all of that, so we're working through that together. But when I get back there, up to speed, we have great potential to be a really good line."
Last season, Marchand had 54 points (27 goals, 27 assists) in 52 games for the Panthers, but he missed a significant amount of time because of a lower-body injury. His last game for Florida, which missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs after winning the Cup in 2024 and 2025, came on March 6.
Marchand previously had surgery to repair a sports hernia following the 2023-24 season and hip surgery following the 2021-22 season.
"He's not far off," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. "All the time he touches the puck something is happening. He's really competitive, as they learned. He's an unusual player, and as his linemates get more comfortable with him, they'll be able to do some things."
