Brad Marchand carries on tradition without teammate Evan Rodrigues

It's been a tradition for the Florida Panthers ever since they acquired Brad Marchand from the divisional foe Boston Bruins to shoot some of the plastic rats fans throw on the ice at his shin pads after wins.

That tradition was kept alive on Wednesday night by Marchand himself after teammate Evan Rodrigues went down with an injury.

Marchand picked up one of the plastic rats that fans threw onto the ice at Ameriant Bank Arena and tossed it at his own shinpads in Rodrigues' absence:

Marchand was acquired from the Bruins at the Trade Deadline last season and helped the Panthers repeat as Stanley Cup champions, and helped especially in the Stanley Cup Final series, once again against the Edmonton Oilers, with six goals in the series alone.

Marchand, who helped the Panthers repeat as Stanley Cup champions and could have become a UFA, decided to keep playing in Florida.

He was re-signed by the Panthers to a six year deal with an AAV (average annual value) of $5.25 million.

He's been a key part of the Panthers' forward units, considering the unavailability of players like Matthew Tkachuk and captain Aleksander Barkov. Tkachuk underwent surgery during the summer and has missed the entire season so far, but is expected to return at some point.

Meanwhile, there is a chance that Barkov will not be able to play this season because of a torn ACL.

So far this year, his first full season in a Panthers sweater, Marchand has 37 points (19G, 18A).