Brad Marchand struggled to hold back tears on the ice when the TD Garden crowd gave him a standing ovation Tuesday night during his first game back as a Bruins opponent. The 37-year-old forward tapped his heart, wiped his face and waved to the crowd as both teams banged their sticks against the ice and even the referee and linesmen clapped along.

The Panthers escaped with a win against the Bruins thanks to Carter Verhaeghe, but the night belonged to Brad Marchand.

Two teams near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings square off when the 10th-place Florida Panthers (3-4) visit the 11th-place Boston Bruins (3-4) at TD Garden on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET. Florida was handed a 3-0 loss on the road its last time out on Oct.