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Is it OK that Tyler Seguin’s just a role player?

Listen to any Boston sports talk segment on the Bruins, and you’re going to hear someone lamenting the lack of production from Tyler Seguin. This is true when Seguin is leading the team in scoring, and this is true when Seguin’s having a pitiful offensive postseason.

Like this postseason, for example. Seguin has one goal and three assists in 13 playoff games, skating to a minus-2.

The goal and two of those helpers came in Games 4 and 5 of the New York Rangers series, leading to some hope he was turning the corner.

DJ Bean of WEEI offers some diagnosis:

The issues with Seguin’s game at this point don’t seem to be anything necessarily new. He can be a bit hesitant if there’s a possibility of contact, but he was the same way when he was lighting it up last year. He’s throwing a lot of pucks on net, which is good, although he had none in the Bruins’ Game 1 win over the Penguins.

So it hasn’t been a strong offensive postseason for Seguin. Which might be OK.

Seguin’s turned into a supremely talented role player for the Boston Bruins as his goal-scoring sputters. He’s skating with Rich Peverley and Chris Kelly on the team’s third line.

Via ESPN Boston, trying to rationalize Seguin’s role vs. his lack of scoring:

“I thought our third line played by far their best game of the [playoffs],” Julien said of Game 1. “So hopefully they can muster some goals here because that would certainly help.”

“I’m competing well and working hard out there,” Seguin said. “I’m playing my role on the team. I’m here to win games, not to want to score every single shift. It’s frustrating at times, but we’re winning games and that definitely makes you happy and it’s fun right now.”

The difference between “hey, at least he’s playing his role well” and “why the hell isn’t Tyler Seguin doing better than one goal in 13 games?!” is wins and losses. If the Bruins keep rolling, perhaps the “winning games and not scoring every shift” mantra works. But the minute the tide turns … well, it’s not David Krejci who'll be blamed for the offense sputtering.