Brad Marchand has been suspended five games for elbowing New Jersey’s Marcus Johansson, the Department of Player Safety announced Wednesday night.

The unpenalized elbow to Johansson’s head came with two minutes left in regulation of the Bruins’ 3-2 win against the Devils Tuesday night at TD Garden.

Marchand is considered a repeat offender under the terms of Collective Bargaining Agreement, and the NHL Player Safety’s announcement of the hearing Wednesday morning came as no surprise. He was clearly tripping over Johansson’s leg, and other players in the league might’ve been able to finesse their way out of a suspension based on that.

Given Marchand’s history of supplemental discipline — this marking his eighth career fine and/or suspension — the overhead view of the hit, and Johansson requiring trainers to get up and off the ice, a suspension of some sort was generally expected. The fact that he avoided punishment for this controversial headshot to John Tavares just last month didn’t do him any favors, either.

The Bruins’ leading scorer will miss Thursday’s tilt against the Senators, three key home games against Anaheim, St. Louis and Toronto, and a road trip to Detroit. He’s eligible to return on Feb. 7 against the Rangers in New York.

Despite the ruling, Marchand is eligible to participate in this weekend’s All-Star festivities in Tampa.

Marchand is still invited to the All-Star Game. The suspension does not change that.

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) January 24, 2018

Wednesday marked head coach Bruce Cassidy’s second go-around at the practically yearly event that Brad Marchand vs. Player Safety has become. He said he’s preparing for the worst-case scenario, but he also cautiously defended his star.

“My thoughts? I wish he had scored off the rush,” Cassidy half-joked following practice Wednesday at Warrior Ice Arena, “but after that, obviously the two players came together.

“I talked to Brad this morning, he just felt that he saw a Devils sweater and tried to protect himself from contact. I don’t have a strong opinion on it…Brad’s taken a couple hits this year, so I absolutely do agree players should protect themselves if they see a hit coming, how they do that is up to the league to determine whether it’s legal or not.”

Marchand didn’t have much to say about the hit moments after notching the game-winning goal Tuesday night.

“I have no idea what happened,” he said. “I took a shot and I tumbled down and he was hurt…hopefully he’s okay.”

Marchand earned a two-game ban last April for spearing Tampa Bay’s Jake Dotchin. This is the fifth suspension of his career, and second in less than 12 months.