SUNRISE, Fla. — Brad Marchand capped his Panthers debut by setting up Sam Bennett’s winner with 41.1 seconds left in overtime, and Florida defeated the Utah Hockey Club 2-1 on Friday night.

Bennett had both goals for Florida, including one in the second period with Mackie Samoskevich and Aleksander Barkov assisting. Utah tied it early in the third on Sean Durzi’s third of the year.

Marchand was playing for the first time since Florida acquired him in a trade with his longtime team, the Boston Bruins, three weeks ago. He had been sidelined with an upper-body injury.

Marchand was greeted by plenty of fans around the ice during warm-ups and even flicked a puck into the stands toward one group as a souvenir. He got the loudest reception of any of Florida’s skaters when the game-opening unit was announced as his new line — with Samoskevich and Bennett – was on the ice to start the game.

Every time Marchand touched the puck, the crowd seemed to immediately increase its volume.

It was the first time in 1,091 NHL games, 1,248 when adding in playoff contests, that Marchand took the ice in something other than a Bruins sweater.

The win pushed Florida back into first in the Atlantic Division at 44-25-3 with 91 points, one more than Toronto and two more than Tampa Bay. All three of those teams have 10 games remaining, and Florida faces those clubs three times — two with Toronto, one with the Lightning — down the stretch.

The Panthers paid tribute to Utah forward Kevin Stenlund during the first period, as has been the case with all returning players who left Florida after winning last year’s Stanley Cup. He got a video and ovation during the first period, acknowledging the crowd with a wave.

Stenlund got his ring in early January when the Panthers visited Utah.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.