Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron remain in the hunt for trophies halfway through the regular season.
ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski on Friday included the Bruins left wing and center among the contenders in his latest “NHL Awards Watch” column.
The Bruins top the Atlantic Division and are tied on points for first place in the Eastern Conference just over halfway through the regular season. Marchand and Bergeron have been central to the team’s success, so it only makes sense they’d be among the NHL’s leading players in various areas.
Marchand has registered 59 points, fifth-highest in the NHL. That total has him in contention for the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player, according to Wyshynski.
Despite naming Marchand as a Hart Trophy “finalist,” Wyshynski believes NHL awards voters might split votes between him and teammate David Pastrnak due to difficulties in measuring the impact each linemate has on Boston’s collective success.
“Marchand has the same issue with teammate and linemate David Pastrnak, who leads him in goals (30 to 20) and points (60 to 59) and hence points per game as well (1.43 to 1.41),” Wyshynski wrote. “But Marchand leads the NHL in goals (15.9) and wins (2.8) above average.”
Wyshynski pegs Bergeron as a “finalist” for the Selke Trophy, given to the best defensive forward. It’s an award the 34-year-old has won four times since 2012 and has been a contender to win every other year in the last decade.
This month marks Marchand’s first appearance in Wyshynski’s “Awards Watch” column in 2019-20. Bergeron has been a Selke “contender” all season, and Pastrnak and goaltender Tuukka Rask were under consideration for the Hart Trophy and Vezina Trophy (for top goaltender), respectively, in previous versions of the column.
There’s a good chance these Bruins stars will remain in contention for various prizes until the end of the season.
