BOSTON — The Bruins could have used Dennis Seidenberg in their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens. If they advanced to the Eastern Conference finals, they might have had the veteran defenseman at their disposal.
The Bruins didn’t reach the conference finals, of course, as they dropped Game 7 on Wednesday night, 3-1, in front of their home crowd at TD Garden.
Seidenberg, who suffered a torn ACL and MCL in late December, has been progressing well in his rehab. Bruins coach Claude Julien admitted after his team’s loss Wednesday that Seidenberg might have returned had Boston advanced.
“There was a possibility, yeah,” Julien said. “He’d been skating for almost a month and started taking a little bit of contact, and I think that would have been a discussion that we would have had heading into the next round.”
Unfortunately for the Bruins, those conversations won’t be needed.
Here are some more notes from the Bruins’ Game 7 loss.
- Don’t be surprised if we learn that captain Zdeno Chara was nursing some sort of injury. Remember when he left early in Game 3 after being dinged somewhere on the hand or arm? Since then, he seemed a little apprehensive going into the corners and didn’t look as strong when battling for pucks. We might never find out, but don’t be surprised if he was dealing with something.
- Speaking of Chara, he clearly was upset as he undressed in his stall after his postgame media session. He slowly took off his pads and skates while mumbling to himself.
- Jarome Iginla arguably was the most effective member of the Bruins’ underachieving first line. He scored Boston’s only goal in Game 7 by getting to the net, something the Bruins didn’t do nearly enough of in this series. Iginla now has four goals and an assist in five career Game 7 appearances.
- Iginla spoke to a huge group of media after the game. If you were on the periphery, you had no chance of hearing. Iginla spoke quietly, and you got the sense he realized how close he was. He played for a Stanley Cup in 2004, but he raved about this team and said it was the best regular season he’s ever been a part of.
- Iginla is an unrestricted free agent this summer, and it will be interesting to see how that scenario plays out on both sides. It makes most sense for the Bruins and Iginla to keep this going, but it’s rarely that simple — or easy.
- The Bruins’ lack of experience on the blue line might have finally caught up to them in this series. That being said, they have two really good, young players on the back end. Dougie Hamilton became a legitimate player right before our eyes in the postseason, and his confidence reflected that, too. Torey Krug might not be the biggest, most gifted player in the world, but he was one of a few Bruins who gave a solid, focused effort all night on Wednesday. He brings it just about every night. Those two will be a big part of this club in the future.
- Random, but the Bruins’ last three seasons have ended at home (vs. Washington in 2012, vs. Chicago in 2013, vs. Montreal in 2014).
- The series went seven games, but it was a little more one-sided than you might think. The Canadiens held at least a two-goal lead in five of those seven games.
- The Canadiens are for real, and they’re not going anywhere. They have a relatively young core with superstar cornerstones in P.K. Subban and Carey Price (and Max Pacioretty, to a lesser extent). If the Habs are able to sign Subban to a long-term contract, they will be a thorn in the Bruins’ side for a long time, especially with the NHL’s new playoff realignment, which sets up perfectly for intradivision matchups.
