The Buffalo Sabres have plenty to celebrate after they won 3-0 over the Florida Panthers on Saturday afternoon. It was a close game through the first period but that all changed midway through the second period.
About halfway through the second period, Marchand took a hit from Rasmus Dahlin which he took exception to. After Marchand got up, he would get in Dahlin's way and trip him, and then get a couple of punches in on the ice before Tage Thompson was able to get involved.
As the players were separated, Marchand still had Dahlin's helmet and took the helmet with him to the penalty box. Instead of just giving it back, Marchand made it a point to rip the straps off the helmet before throwing it onto the ice.
After getting into it with Rasmus Dahlin, Brad Marchand took Dahlin's helmet to the penalty box and ripped off the straps 😂 pic.twitter.com/H69NvU8nYO
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 18, 2025
Buffalo Sabres would get the last laugh against Brad Marchand
The Florida Panthers have had much more success than the Buffalo Sabres recently, with back-to-back Stanley Cups. On Saturday, though, it was the Sabres who would get the upper hand. This penatly by Marchand would be the turning point in the game as Josh Doan would score his second power play goal of the game.
It would extend the Sabres' lead to two before, later in the period, Owen Power would score to make it 3-0, which was the final score of the game.
There is no question that Brad Marchand has a reputation for being an agitator and an exceptional ability to get under the skin of opponents. He has had a career resurgence since joining the Florida Panthers in a trade during last season, with 20 points in 23 playoff games. Marchand has kept that momentum going into this season with six points through six games.
However, Marchand's decision to make it a point to rip apart Dahlin's helmet appeared to backfire, as the Sabres would use it as motivation and score the second power-play goal. It was enough to put the game out of reach and allowed Buffalo to really control the action for the remainder of the game.
The Buffalo Sabres have not had much success against the Panthers or Marchand, either in Boston or Florida, so this is a moment they should enjoy.