BOSTON -- If the Bruins are going to successfully defend their Stanley Cup, they're going to need goals from Tyler Seguin.
That may seem like an obvious statement. Because it is.
Nathan Horton (concussion) and Michael Ryder (no longer on the Bruins) aren't going to be on the ice when the playoffs begin. They combined for 16 goals last postseason, including five game-winning goals.
Somebody will need to carry that load. And that somebody will need to be Seguin.
The 20-year-old winger became the youngest player in Bruins history to lead the team in scoring on Saturday, after scoring a pair of goals and finishing his second regular season with 29 goals and 38 assists in 81 games.
That's quite a jump from his rookie season, which he finished with 11 goals and 11 assists in 74 games.
The Bruins will also need him to make that jump in the postseason, and improve upon his three goals and four assists from last year's playoff run.
"I think experienced helped me a lot least year, playing a couple of Game 7's, and the Stanley Cup Final Game 7. Thats going to go a long way," said Seguin. "So, lets hope the experience with all the little things, the details of the game, the defensive zone, and Im going to do well."
But what also will help Seguin is the pair of goals he scored on Saturday, in the regular-season finale. Sure, if Seguin didn't score, and if the Bruins had lost, it wouldn't have been the end of the world.
But a win, and especially a win while seeing Seguin tickle the twine, can only be a positive, for a team that will be looking to replace the big-game offensive production in the playoffs that's lost in Horton and Ryder.
"It's nice obviously," said Seguin after Saturday's win. "It's better than not scoring. So, I guess I'll walk away today with a smile."
The entire Bruins team walked away from the regular season with a smile as well. Seguin's offense will be one of the biggest keys in maintaining that smile for weeks to come. And he'll do it alongside Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.
"Look at my lineys," said Seguin. "Theyre easy to play with, and I think if you look at my goals tonight, they set most of them up. I'm very fortunate to play with them and capitalize."
Bergeron assisted both of Seguin's goals on Saturday. The first coming on a perfect pass through the slot, only to find Seguin skating hard to the right post for the tap-in.
The second coming on a behind-the-back pass to the left circle, where Seguin blasted a one-timer upstairs while on the power play.
Seguin looked like a kid who played like the team's scoring leader in just his second year. And now, enters his second postseason as the Bruins' youngest scoring leader.
"Yeah, its pretty amazing," said Seguin. "Its definitely an honor. I did not know that. My linemates make the game a lot easier for me. Marshy and Bergy, with how much chemistry they had already from last year, going all the way with the same line to the Stanley Cup championship, they had a lot of chemistry. It was nice to step on that line, and hopefully were going to get better."
At the very least, they'll have to play like they did on Saturday. And Seguin will need to carry that offense into the playoffs.