Make it two Bruins who are now in COVID-19 protocol. After right wing Craig Smith entered COVID protocol earlier Tuesday, the team announced Tuesday afternoon that Brad Marchand has now entered protocol as well.
The news is especially concerning because Marchand had just taken part in morning skate ahead of Tuesday night's game against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Bruins played the Flames -- a team that now has nine players and a staff member in COVID protocol -- on Saturday in Calgary. While the Bruins' own issues have not yet been directly linked to Calgary, it's hard not to draw a connection.
The Flames have already had three games postponed. As of the time of this post, there had not yet been any news about the Bruins' game Tuesday night potentially being postponed.
The Bruins just had head coach Bruce Cassidy return from two weeks in protocol. On Monday, Linus Ullmark, Connor Clifton and John Moore were all held out of practice due to testing issues. None of the three were forced into protocol, though, and all of them returned for Tuesday's morning skate.
Jake DeBrusk took Smith's spot as second-line right wing in Tuesday's morning skate. It's unclear what the Bruins' lines will look like now that Marchand is out as well. Presumably, Taylor Hall would move up to the top line like he did during Marchand's recent three-game suspension.
The Bruins are fully vaccinated as a team, although it's unclear how many players have received booster shots so far.