Brad Marchand was the hero for the Florida Panthers on Friday night, scoring the overtime winner in a thrilling 5-4 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 3 of their second-round series at Amerant Bank Arena.

In the process, Marchand passed Ondrej Palat and Evgeni Malkin for sole possession of the most game winners among active players in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 14, per the NHL's official X account.

The 36-year-old took a pass from Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov and found space at the top of the left circle before firing a wrist shot that deflected off Leafs blue liner Morgan Rielly and past goaltender Joseph Woll.

It was an absolutely critical tally; the defending Stanley Cup champions couldn't afford to fall into an insurmountable 0-3 series hole against the Atlantic Division's top team. Instead, they're now down 2-1 with a chance to knot the series at two on Sunday night in Sunrise.

“It obviously felt good for the group,” Marchand told reporters after the crucial victory, per NHL.com's George Richards. “We had a good game — a better second half of the game because we didn’t start the way we would have liked. I love their resiliency. We battled back from a couple two-goal deficits and we just competed the way we know we can. But it’s all about doing it the next game. We know they’re going to come out hard.”

Marchand is a proven playoff performer, having won a championship with the Boston Bruins in 2011 and helping lead the franchise to two other Finals in 2013 and 2019. He's currently fifth among active players with 58 goals and 146 points in 165 postseason contests.

Panthers right back in it vs. Maple Leafs

After falling down 2-0 early in the first period, and again 3-1 in the second, the Panthers battled back. Florida tied the score at three in the middle frame before taking a 4-3 lead late in the period.

Although Rielly would get one past Sergei Bobrovsky in the third period to tie things up, Marchand did exactly what he was brought to South Florida to do — be a difference-maker in the playoffs.

“Bounces are going to go both ways,” star forward Sam Reinhart said afterwards, per Richards. “They got a couple early, and we got the last one. I liked the way we responded. There was no panic. There was one job to do, and that was to win and get back in this thing.”

The Leafs are still in good shape, with home-ice advantage secured and a chance to go up 3-1 at Amerant Bank Arena on Sunday night. But it's very clear that these are two very evenly matched teams — and this could end up being a long series.

“At this time of year there are no easy games,” Reinhart continued. “There is a fine line between winning and losing, and we have been riding that line this series. We’re staying composed. We’re comfortable in these situations.”

Puck is set to drop on Game 4 between Florida and Toronto just past 7:30 p.m. ET on Sunday night.