Patrice Bergeron is one of the best players in the NHL when it comes to winning faceoffs, yet he keeps getting thrown out of them.

A strange Bruins subplot in the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs has been Bergeron getting tossed with greater frequency from faceoffs at the stern direction of the linesman. NHL faceoff rules are specific, but simultaneously open to interpretation.

Patrice Bergeron's faceoff form was good enough to take 1,368 faceoffs this season. He has been thrown out of 24 faceoffs this postseason. — Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) May 1, 2018

As a result, it’s been a mystifying situation for fans trying to make sense of what Bergeron – a 32-year-old veteran who has taken more than 15,000 draws in his career – is doing wrong. On Tuesday, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy indicated he’s equally at a loss:

Perplexed as to why Patrice Bergeron is getting thrown out of so many faceoffs? Bruce Cassidy is just as confused. pic.twitter.com/39to8jJ02Y — Michael Hurley (@michaelFhurley) May 1, 2018


Asked about it again on Wednesday before Game 3 against the Lightning at TD Garden, Cassidy said he’d heard no update from the league.

“No, we haven’t addressed that,” Cassidy said. “I assume the head linesman on the ice will talk to the players and hopefully they’ll follow suit.”

Bergeron himself admitted on Wednesday that he’s not sure what he’s doing that violates the faceoff rules.

“It’s a bit of a head scratcher every once in a while, to be honest with you.”

“I’ve been asking a lot of questions. I don’t seem to get any answers,” the Bruins center said. “So it’s up to me to adjust and to be better.”

Bergeron has had previous issues with NHL faceoff rules. At the start of the season, new league updates to the rule drew his criticism.

“I wonder what they’re really trying to get out of it,” Bergeron told MassLive’s Conor Ryan in September. “I understand that it’s feet above those lines and sticks and whatnot. That being said it also kind of sucks. Hockey is a fast game and they’re really slowing it down.”

The Lightning won 33 faceoffs (against just 25 Bruins wins) in Game 2 and won by a 4-2 margin, helping Tampa tie the series at one game apiece. Bergeron and his teammates’ ability to improve on faceoffs will be a pivotal factor during the rest of the series.