The Se(y) Hey Kid!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Scott Cordischi, GoLocalProv Sports Editor

Who would have thought that a 19-year old puppy would be the one to jumpstart the Boston Bruins?

That’s right! If you thought that Tim Thomas would be the key to tying the series at one with Tampa, you would have been wrong! Zdeno Chara? Nope! Maybe the return of Patrice Bergeron to the line-up? Wrong again!

19-year old rookie Tyler Seguin had the game (and the period) of his life last night. The second overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft scored 2 goals and had 2 assists in a 5-goal second period for the Bruins which helped turn a 2-1 deficit into a 6-3 lead. The Bruins managed to hang on for the 6-5 win.

Seguin was playing in only his second career playoff game. After not dressing against Montreal and Philadelphia in the opening two rounds of the playoffs, Seguin got the call in game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Lightning due to the concussion which sidelined Bergeron.

The rookie made an immediate impact in game 1 of the series scoring a goal and dishing out an assist but there was some question as to whether or not he would even be active for Tuesday night’s game 2 of the series.

Bergeron was a full participant in practice Monday leading to speculation that he might return to the line-up for last night’s game. He did not. And Seguin took advantage once again.

Seguin set an NHL rookie record for most points (4) by a rookie in a single playoff game.

With his stellar performance in the first two games of this series, Seguin has absolutely forced the hand of head coach Claude Julien. With Bergeron likely to return for Thursday night’s game 3, he will have to do so at the expense of someone else’s spot on the roster. Seguin is here to stay.

NOTES:

-Not wanting to drop the first 2 games of the series on home ice, the Bruins were relentless with the pressure they put on Tampa in the opening period of play. They managed to get 18 shots on Dwayne Roloson but still trailed 2-1 after the first.

-Boston’s anemic power play was significantly stronger Tuesday night featuring great puck movement and two power play goals. The B’s did have some problems, however, missing the net on a number of shots. Still, it was a marked improvement.

-Boston also did a better job last night of getting bodies in front of Roloson not allowing him to see the puck so clearly. Roloson was replaced after giving up 6 goals in the first two periods. Mike Smith replaced him in goal in the third and stopped all 8 Boston shots he faced.

-Two areas that continue to plague the Bruins are sloppy play in their own end and turnovers in the neutral zone. Unlike some other NHL teams, Tampa Bay has the talent to make teams pay for that type of sloppy play and they have cashed in on numerous Boston miscues in the first two games of this series.

-Tim Thomas was, at times, brilliant. At other times, however, Thomas seemed incredibly average. In his defense, some of the goals he allowed were by turnovers by his teammates. And Dominic Moore's goal in the third was the result of teammate dennis McQuiad taking Thomas out by crashing into him. Like most goaltenders, Thomas is much more effective when his defensemen let him see the puck. He faced a lot of rubber stopping 36 of the 41 shots he faced.

-Like Seguin, Michael Ryder scored 2 goals for Boston last night (his 3rd and 4th of the postseason). Seguin picked up assists on both of Ryder's goals.