Marchand could make Panthers debut Friday vs. Utah

The Florida Panthers are targeting Friday's game against Utah Hockey Club as Brad Marchand's potential debut with his new team, head coach Paul Maurice said Wednesday.

Nothing is guaranteed, but that's the hope, Maurice added.

Marchand hasn't played since March 1 after suffering an upper-body injury as a member of the Boston Bruins. He was traded to the division-rival Panthers on March 7 for a conditional second-round pick.

The 36-year-old winger has recorded 21 goals and 26 assists in 61 outings this season. He'll be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the campaign.

Marchand skated on a line with Tomas Nosek and Mackie Samoskevich at Wednesday's practice, though Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett were both absent.

The Panthers are still missing winger Matthew Tkachuk and defenseman Dmitry Kulikov due to injury. They're also without blue-liner Aaron Ekblad through the first two games of the playoffs due to a suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.