The Bruins, who lead the Northeast division, also claimed top spot in the Eastern Conference after the Philadelphia Flyers lost 4-2 to the New York Rangers.
"One thing I said to them is we've gone from 15th to first in less than two months, and they deserve a lot of credit for that," Bruins coach Claude Julien told reporters.
"They worked hard to accomplish that and I think it's important they enjoy the three days of Christmas holiday that they have."
The Panthers, who were missing a number of starters including Stephen Weiss, still have a comfortable lead in the Southeast despite a run of three consecutive losses.
Marchand opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal early in the first period and completed his first NHL hat trick with two goals nine minutes apart in the third period. The winger also picked up two assists.
Boston goalie Tuukka Rask made 30 saves for his second consecutive shutout.
Milan Lucic, Benoit Pouliot and Dennis Seidenberg added first-period goals to build a 4-0 lead and chase Panthers starting goalie Jose Theodore, who recorded the shutout against Boston on December 8.
Gregory Campbell and Patrice Bergeron also found the net for
Boston in the second period.
"We wanted to make sure we had a big start and after we got up by a couple keep it going," Marchand told reporters.
"When a team is down like that, guys are tired and they're vulnerable. We just wanted to keep it going."
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