Brad Marchand on the Ice with the Florida Panthers. In Boston

Brad Marchand joined his new Florida Panthers teammates on the ice for the first time Tuesday morning.

The fact that Marchand was on the ice at all would be newsworthy since he has been out with an upper-body injury since March 1.

Marchand skating with the Panthers in Boston, of all places, blows this story up.

The Panthers do not expect Marchand to play for a few weeks, coach Paul Maurice saying Monday that Florida’s team medical staff did not change Boston’s 3-4 week timeline by much.

Tuesday, Maurice said the hope was that Marchand would join the Panthers sometime before the regular season ends. Florida has 17 games remaining after tonight.

Marchand started on Florida’s top line with Sasha Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe; Sam Reinhart did not take part in the optional morning skate after practicing in Fort Lauderdale on Monday.

Marchand said on Monday that he hoped to skate Tuesday. It was his first time on the ice since he was run into the boards from behind March 1 in Pittsburgh.

The Bruins traded their captain to the Panthers on Friday for a conditional 2028 second-round pick.

Marchand said Monday that he was looking forward to coming back to Boston after Friday’s trade.

“It will be great to go home,” Marchand said of returning to Boston Garden. “The guys were on the road when I got traded, so I didn’t get to see a lot of the guys before I left. It will be nice to be able to see guys, kind of say goodbye.

“It will be great to see my family again, get a bunch of my stuff. … It will be very weird to be there with an opposing team, so I guess it’s nice but it will be sad too.”

ON DECK: GAME No. 65

FLORIDA PANTHERS at BOSTON BRUINS

• When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.
• Where: Boston Garden
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FTL); WPTV 5/WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SWFla)
• Streaming: Panthers+, ESPN+
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Betting Odds — Panthers Favored: Money Line (-180); Puck line (-1.5, +130); Over/Under 5.5 (-115/-105)
• This Season (Panthers Lead 2-1) — At Florida: Panthers 6, Bruins 4 (Oct. 8); Bruins 4, Panthers 3 (OT) Jan. 11. At Boston:Panthers 4, Bruins 3 (Oct. 14); Tuesday.
• Last Regular Season: Bruins Won 4-0
• Last Postseason: Panthers Won ECS 4-2
• All-time Regular Season Series: Boston leads 65-39-7, 6 ties
• All-time Postseason Series: Florida leads 3-0 (1996 1st, 2023 1st, 2024 2nd)
• Up Next for the Panthers: Thursday at Toronto Maple Leafs, 7 p.m.