Tyler Seguin, Brad Marchand in Race With Each Other to Reach 30 Goals, Lead Bruins in Category

by Douglas Flynn on Tue, Apr 3, 2012 at 2:36PM

BOSTON –- The Bruins wrapped up the Northeast Division title and the No. 2 seed in the East with Sunday's win over the Rangers, but there's still plenty to play for in the final three games of the regular season.

That's especially true for a pair of linemates.

Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin each are three goals away from reaching 30 on the season. It's a mark only three Bruins have reached since the lockout, with Milan Lucic netting 30 last season, Phil Kessel 36 in 2008-09 and Patrice Bergeron 31 in 2005-06.

"It would be a nice milestone to hit," Marchand said after Tuesday's morning skate as the Bruins prepared to play Pittsburgh at the Garden. "But at this point, there's a lot more than that. You want to make sure you're playing the right kind of hockey, but it would definitely be nice to hit that mark."

Seguin, who like Marchand has already shattered his career high with 27 goals this season, agreed that reaching a nice round 30 would be a special accomplishment.

"It would be pretty cool," Seguin said. "I think going into this year my goal was to get 20 goals. I was happy to hit that. I actually haven't been trying to think about it too much. Three wins would be ideal for me [in the final three games], but obviously [30 goals] would be pretty sweet too."

No Bruins teammates have scored 30 or more in the same season since Glen Murray (44), Joe Thornton (36) and Mike Knuble (30) all reached that milestone in 2002-03. Marchand and Seguin would both like to see the other join the 30-goal club, just as long as the other finishes with one less than he does.

"That's a good one," Marchand said when asked if he'd rather score 30 or finish with more goals than Seguin. "We'll see if I can do both."

Seguin wasn't surprised to hear Marchand's response.

"Marshy's always in a battle with me," Seguin said. "I already have the looks, so he's got to try to go for goals. He gave up on points a long time ago."

Seguin leads the Bruins with 65 points, while Marchand is fifth on the team with 54. But Seguin isn't opposed to adding a few more assists in the final three games, even if they help set up Marchand goals.

"We're linemates," Seguin said. "It's something we joke about off the ice, but on the ice we're not really thinking about it. If we have a 2 on 1, it's not like we're not going to pass because we're going for goals.

"Well, he might," Seguin added with a smile, "but I know I won't."

Have a question for Douglas Flynn? Send it to him via Twitter at @douglasflynn or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.