For the first time in these NHL Playoffs, the Boston Bruins famed #2 pick of the most recent draft will skate in game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Tyler Seguin will see ice time not due to merit alone, but will enter the third line alongside Rich Peverley and Michael Ryder largely because of a concussion sidelining the B’s leading 2011 playoff scorer Patrice Bergeron.
Seguin’s move into the lineup comes to the tune of a promotion of Chris Kelly too. Kelly will bump up in the ranks to Boston’s second line to start the series versus Tampa Bay. He has had a great run thus far in the playoffs, netting and helping to net plenty of important goals against both the Montreal Canadiens and the Philadelphia Flyers.
Though this is an unfortunate happening for Bruins fans in losing Bergeron it will be at the very least an interesting experiment. So far Seguin has been held completely out of the Bruins lineup because of his inexperience. Coming into his first bit of playoff action against forwards the likes of Steven Stamkos and Vincent Lecavalier will certainly breed the youngster into an instant playoff vet.
Should Kelly and Seguin prove to adequately substitute for the concussed star Bergeron, they will both cement their places on Boston’s roster in the 2011-2012 season. While this was always sort of the case for Seguin, he has a chance to actually play in game one of next season as opposed to being a healthy scratch.
But whether Kelly and Seguin can adequately sub for Bergeron remains to be seen. First inclination says no, as Bergie has been lights out lately. In any case, this roster move (which is one of Claude Julien’s first of the playoffs) will keep Bruins fans on the edge of their seats.