This story originally ran in BruinsZone.com on May 13, 2011.

By Nick Tavares

Patrice Bergeron, of course, will not see any action in Game 1 tomorrow night when the Boston Bruins start their Eastern Conference Finals series with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and he will very likely not play in Game 2, either.

As discussed in this space earlier this week, the Bruins will shuffle lines, likely sticking Chris Kelly in between Brad Marchand and Mark Recchi on the second line. But more intriguing is the return of 19-year-old Tyler Seguin to the lineup, sent to the press box as the playoffs began in favor of Daniel Paille and Michael Ryder. Seguin will likely play on the third line with Rich Peverley and Michael Ryder, instantly creating a group with plenty of offensive potential.

It’s that offensive potential that will likely come easiest to Seguin. It was displayed in spurts (as his playing time went, obviously), but Seguin’s offensive ceiling is the highest of anyone currently on the Bruins. His speed, even at this young age, is excellent, he has a hard, quick shot, and he’s as dangerous on a breakaway as anyone on the team. Whenever the Bruins went to a shootout and he was dressed, he seemed to always be in the top 3.

But there is no shootout in the playoffs, and breakaways like the ones where Seguin excells are few and far between. That speed will help him in trying to break through Tampa Bay’s 1-3-1 system, but it’s his physical play that will carry him through 10 to 15 minutes a game and, ultimately, keep him in the lineup.

The keys to Seguin playing smart, physical hockey, the brand of two-way play that Claude Julien preaches, are discipline and size. The size is out of Seguin’s control. At 19, his body is not where it will be in a year or two. Milan Lucic excelled his first year with the Bruins (as an 18-year-old) because, even at that young age, he was a hulk who could hang with the rest of the league. At this point in his development, Seguin needs to rely on his speed and decision making to not be knocked off the puck.

That decision making is likely what the Bruins questioned in Seguin, leading to his spot in the press box. By all reports, though, Seguin has been a good soldier in practice and more than willing to listen to his coaches and more experienced teammates — Bergeron, Recchi, Peverley, and on down the line. His maturity, as far as I’ve seen, has never come into question. His hockey sense, though, isn’t quite where it needs to be for a team hoping to raise a Stanley Cup.

At least, it hasn’t been. Seguin has not played in an NHL game for nearly a month now. That’s a lot of time spent practicing, studying, watching and working out. Will he be prepared to step up when the spotlight is brightest? Or, will he lose his spot to Jordan Caron or one of the Bruins’ other Black Aces?

We’ll all find out Saturday night.