While the Boston Bruins were earning their fourth straight win Thursday night, the NHL announced initial players who made the 2022 All-Star roster.
It's locked in that Patrice Bergeron will make his third All-Star appearance, with Charlie McAvoy's fate in the hands of fans as Boston's representative in the Last Man In vote.
Of note, Brad Marchand was excluded from the list. After the 3-2 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers, head coach Bruce Cassidy admitted his surprise.
"I am. I really am," Cassidy said, when asked postgame if he was shocked to not see Marchand make the cut.
"You know, I'm happy for Bergy. Obviously as I said before, I think that those three will always been in contention every year. With the format the way it is I don't know if all three would ever play in a game together, unfortunately, because you're limited with how many teams are in the National Hockey League now and the format. But yeah, and if it becomes a popularity contest, you know, that there's people out there that really appreciate Brad's game and there's some that don't. So, I'm willing to bet if the players picked that he'd up right there."
Through 28 games played for the Bruins, Marchand leads his team in scoring with a team-high 19 goals, 21 assists and 39 total points.
The assistant captain had a hat trick Wednesday against the Montreal Canadiens, adding an assist against the Flyers on Thursday.
