The rookie season of Boston Bruins forwards Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand could not have possibly gone much better. These two young players (19, and 22 respectively)were part of the 2011 Stanley Cup Championship season. These players joined the team and made an impact on the regular season and shined in the playoffs. Tyler Seguin was the breakout star of the playoffs. Brad Marchand, dubbed by President Obama as “the little ball of hate.” scored the final goal of the entire 2011 NHL season. That empty netter gave the Bruins a 4-0 lead in the game seven of the Finals.
Their sophomore efforts in the regular season were even better. Seguin and Marchand went one-two in goals scored (29 and 28), and had both racked up at least twenty five assists each. They had a combined +/- of plus sixty five, and had racked up one hundred and seventeen penalty minutes. (Marchand claimed the lion’s share with eighty of them.) The Bruins relied on the Seguin/Marchand duo as the injuries began to pile up in the 2012 season. The team’s regular season performance won them the Northeast Division and the second seed in the playoffs.
Let us not discuss the first round of the playoffs. Things happened and a tired team did their best to defend the Cup. This time, it was Seguin scoring the last goal of the Bruins 2012 season. There, it has been mentioned and now we can move on.
Let’s look at the potential of the 2012-2013 season. I’d say its pretty safe to assume that we should seen even better results. Seguin’s surgery appears to have no long term effects, and we’ll see those hot hands on the line in October. Seguin and Marchand have already started their pre-season routines to get them back into fighting shape (well, based on PIM I’d say that applies to at least Marchand.). We will have the entirety of both lines back on full time duty scoring for Boston (crosses fingers and knocks on wood for Nathan Horton AND that the season isn’t held up by the collective bargaining agreement.). I’m hoping the third time is the charm, and the Black and Gold can rescue the Cup next season.