Florida coach Joel Quenneville confirmed earlier in the day that Yandle would be in the lineup, two days after saying it was unlikely the defenseman would be in the top-six rotation for the Panthers to start the season.
Yandle scored at 5:33 of the second period to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead.
"I mean, obviously, just for me, it was just being ready to go and just waiting for my time to get the chance," Yandle said. "And I think scoring that goal kind of helped solidify the work that I put in and being ready to go, and I think a lot of it was seeing the guys, seeing their reaction to it and getting real fired up for me."
Quenneville said, "I was happy for him. He had a lot of fun with the scoring as well, and the bench was lit up, so it was one of those moments that you can look back and you can have a big smile, and I'm happy for him and it turned out to be a big goal for us.
"And when we look back, hey, let's move forward here and let's push each other in a positive way and be the best we can all be together."
Yandle, who has the longest current games-played streak in the NHL, has not missed a game since March 22, 2009, when he was with the Arizona Coyotes. He has played every game for the past 11 seasons, including 69 in 2019-20 before the season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.
The streak is the fourth longest in NHL history behind Doug Jarvis (964), Garry Unger (914) and Steve Larmer (884).
Yandle scored 45 points (five goals, 40 assists) last season, including 21 points on the power play, which was the eighth-highest total among NHL defensemen. In 977 NHL games, Yandle has scored 574 points (100 goals, 474 assists), including 264 points (37 goals, 227 assists) on the power play.
Despite those credentials, Florida was strongly considering making the 34-year-old a healthy scratch for the opener.
"Obviously, everybody wants to play, but we've got some tough decisions and that's been one right now that if we have to [make it on] Sunday, he's not going to be in the lineup," Quenneville said on the NHL @TheRink podcast Friday.
"We're looking at a lot of young guys here coming into camp. The opportunity for him right now is a little tight right now and tough, but things could change quickly in our business. In the course of a season like this year you never know, you might have to go 10 or 11 deep on the back end. That's where it's at. So it's a situation where his spot, it's not where he wants to be."
Florida was scheduled to start the season with back-to-back home games against the Dallas Stars on Thursday and Friday, but those were postponed because of a COVID-19 outbreak for the Stars.
The Panthers' game group that Yandle joined at practice Saturday included defensemen Aaron Ekblad, MacKenzie Weegar, Riley Stillman, Anton Stralman, Radko Gudas and Gustav Forsling. The other defensemen on the roster are Markus Nutivaara, Brady Keeper, Kevin Connauton and Noah Juulsen.
"Right now, we have 11 defensemen," Quenneville said Friday. "We picked up two guys on waivers this week (Forsling and Juulsen). We've got a lot of sorting out to do. I was talking to 'Yands' earlier, when you look at the 11, you could say one through 11, how would you rate them, and I think everyone will have a different number next to them. I think a lot of decisions are close."
San Jose Sharks forward Patrick Marleau (854) has the next longest streak of consecutive games after Yandle. He has not missed a game since April 7, 2009.
NHL.com independent correspondent Alain Poupart contributed to this report
