Cassidy To Coach Atlantic Division At All-Star Game

The Boston Bruins aren’t scheduled to play the Blues in St. Louis until April 2 but at least three members of the team will now be headed there January for the NHL All-Star Game on January 25. The NHL announced it’s four All-Star head coaches on Friday and Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy will coach the Atlantic Division and join Atlantic Division captain and Bruins winger David Pastrnak as well as Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask to represent the spoked B in St. Louis January 24-25. Bruins alternate captain Patrice Bergeron could end up there as well if he is voted in by NHL fans via the “Last Man In” vote.

Cassidy will join Capitals head coach Todd Reirden (Metropolitan), Blues head coach Craig Berube (Central), and Vegas Golden Knights head coach Gerard Gallant (Pacific) behind the benches in St. Louis. 

“It’s an honor, that’s what it means to me,” Cassidy told the media after Bruins practice Friday. “Obviously a reflection of the players, what they’ve been able to do this year on the ice. You know I get the benefit of it, and I thank the staff as well, we all work hard to do our part every day. But obviously, the players perform on the ice, so they’re the ones that should be thanked first. But for me again, it’s an honor, I’ve never been to one, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Nothing But Progress With Cassidy

After taking over the Bruins bench as interim head coach when the team fired longtime head coach Claude Julien on February 7, 2017, Cassidy led the Bruins to the playoffs for the first time in two seasons. They lost to the Ottawa Senators in six games in the first round but it’s only gotten better since then for Cassidy and the Bruins as they amassed 112 points in 2017-18 and advanced to Game 5 of the second round and then last season after another second place finish in the Atlantic Division with 107 points, they advanced all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final before losing to the Blues. 

Cassidy is 141-59-33 since taking over for Julien and heading into Saturday’s tilt at TD Garden against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers, he has the Bruins (24-7-11, 59 points) in first place in the Atlantic Division and tied with the Capitals for first in the Eastern Conference and in the race for the President’s Trophy. The Bruins lead the league in goals against per game (2.40), are ranked second in penalty kill percentage (85.4), third in powerplay percentage (27.2), eighth in faceoff win percentage (50.7) and 10^th in goals per game (3.31).