Pointless through four games, Tyler Seguin isn’t having a very good postseason.
Claude Julien has a theory why.
The Bruins head coach suggested Seguin felt the pressure of playing in his hometown -- Toronto -- during Games 3 and 4 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal.
“This is [Tyler’s] hometown and he seems a bit nervous here,” Julien explained after Boston’s 4-3 OT win on Wednesday. “I thought he played really well the first two games.
“In Boston, he was a really good player and here not quite as good.”
Seguin was all over the place during the opening two games of the series. Despite failing to register a point, he recorded a combined 15 shots on goal, finished plus-1 and even got his physical game going, racking up four hits in Game 2.
In Toronto, though, it was a different story.
Seguin put just three shots on goal over two games at the ACC, and took a tripping penalty that led to Jake Gardiner’s power-play goal in Game 3.
The 21-year-old didn’t sound overly concerned about his lack of production, suggesting things would turn around.
“In the end it’s a fun sport,” he explained. “With playoffs and everything surrounding it, sometimes you almost do lose track of that.
“So the biggest message we had among ourselves as a line was to go out there, relax a little bit more, have more fun.”
And hey, if the Bruins can close out the series in Game 5, Seguin won’t have to worry about playing in Toronto again.