The Seguin Show

What do Tyler Seguin and I have in common?  Well, we're both 19 years old - and that's about where the similarities end.  While I try to enjoy the last few weeks of high school with my friends before graduation, Seguin is trying to win a Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins.  The second overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft scored the first playoff goal of his career in game one of the Eastern Conference finals, his first career playoff game, and carried that momentum right into game two.  Seguin stole the spotlight in Boston's 6-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning Tuesday night with two goals and two assists - all in the second period.  

After the game, Seguin was fairly humble about his performance.  He got the chance to play in this series to begin with because Patrice Bergeron is out with a concussion.  Seguin commented about what it's like to play after not seeing any ice time in the first two rounds:

It’s definitely tough watching from above.  I try to take everything in and learn as much as I can, but it's hard sitting there and not being able to help out the boys.  I wanted to take advantage of any opportunity I got.  

In the same post-game press conference, Seguin mentioned the support he received from older, more experienced teammates, and commented numerous times on his desire to simply seize any opportunities given to him.  He referred to his rookie season as a learning curve, and said that he felt "more confident and more poised" as the season progressed.

Although Seguin has been spectacular in game one and game two, I would be cautious to say that the learning curve is over just yet.  It will be interesting to see how he performs from here on out.

Michael Ryder's stellar game was somewhat shadowed by Seguin's break through night.  I was happy to see this article on NHL.com recognizing Ryder's impact on game two.

Tampa Bay coach Guy Boucher referred to the lack of structure in game two as "pond hockey," and went on to say that "even if we would have won that game, we certainly would not have been happy with the way we played."

Roloson didn't have the kind of game that fans have almost began to take for granted from him, but it's just one game out of a best of seven series.  Expect him to have a solid game three and four when the series moves down to Florida.  Roloson let in 6 goals on the 27 shots he faced, but still managed to come up with some impressive saves, especially in the first period.  He was replaced by Mike Smith at the start of the third period.

Guy Boucher on Dwayne Roloson in game two:

Notable Performances

Boston Bruins:

          Tyler Seguin - 2 goals, 2 assists; +3; first star of the game

          Michael Ryder - 2 goals, 1 assist; +2; third star of the game

          Nathan Horton - 1 goal, 2 assists

Tampa Bay Lightning:

          Steven Stamkos - 1 goal, 2 assists; -1

          Vincent Lecavalier - 1 goal, 3 assists; +1; second star of the game

          Martin St. Louis - 1 goal, 1 assists; -1

If tonight proved anything, it proved that this is going to be one crazy series.  Don't be surprised if it takes seven games to declare a winner.