Siren Game: Tyler Seguin Lighting Up Tampa Bay
Those of you who are long-time LBS readers may recall a feature we used to run called Siren Games. Today, we’ve decided to bring that feature back. For our newer readers, a Siren Game is a performance a player has that alerts you that he is the real deal, thus affirming the existence of the hype surrounding that player. If you tuned in to last night’s Eastern Conference Finals game between the Bruins and Lightning, you should have no problem understanding the concept of a Siren Game.
Tyler Seguin was selected by the Bruins with the second overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft — a selection they received from Toronto as part of the Phil Kessel trade. After trading Kessel, Boston was said to lack a true scorer. Peter Chiarelli and the Bruins font office hoped Seguin would be the answer to their troubles.
To make a long story short, the Lightning and Bruins combined for as many goals (11) in Game 2 as Seguin had all season. As the season progressed Claude Julien cut back the rookie’s minutes, noting that he still needed to develop and improve defensively. As a result, Seguin was left off the postseason roster.
When Patrice Bergeron suffered a concussion during Eastern Conference Semis against Philadelphia, Seguin got the nod. In his first career playoff game, the 19-year-old undressed a Tampa Bay defender to score a beautiful breakaway goal and later added an assist. In Game 2, the siren went off.
Seguin added two goals and two assists in a 6-5 Bruins win Tuesday night and made Boston a significantly more explosive team offensively. One goal was another Ovechkin-like breakaway and the other was an absolute snipe into the top right corner. Seguin seemed to always be in the right place at the right time and looked as good as any playmaker in the league. You could argue he was single-handedly the reason the Bruins were able to tie the series. If he continues to play this well in Bergeron’s absence — and possibly when Bergeron returns — Boston has a legitimate shot at hoisting the Stanley Cup. Don’t believe me? See for yourself.
