Game Day Guide: Stars at Lightning

First shift 🏒

Adversity was a familiar teammate of Seguin’s during his 16-year NHL career.

That’s why Thursday’s 1,000th regular-season game in Tampa Bay is so important.

Seguin, 33, should have reached this milestone years ago. He began his career at the age of 18 after being selected second overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. He chewed up games and coughed up points early in his career, winning the Stanley Cup with Boston in his rookie season, then becoming one of the Stars’ top scorers after a trade with Dallas.

But along the way, injuries began to pile up. He had his Achilles tendon cut by a skate blade in 2016. He also had a few knee surgeries, as well as hip and groin repairs in 2020. Then, last year, after flying out in the first 20 games, he decided to have surgery to repair his other hip.

This placed him on long-term injured reserve until April. He returned to play in the regular season finale and 18 playoff games, and he’s looked great since, but it’s been an uphill battle.

“It shows what a good player he is because he is able to adapt after many years in the league,” defender Esa Lindell said.

Coach Glen Gulutzan added: “You look at him even this year and he plays center, wing, different lines, he’s been a big help. At a time when [Benn] is out, he’s taken on a big leadership role on the team and he’s really helping us get some things done.

Benn has been out since late September after surgery to repair a collapsed lung. Duchene – a longtime teammate of Seguin’s – was in and out after receiving a hit in the third game of the season. Seguin then had to rebound from the wing on a line with Hintz and Mikko Rantanen in the center of Adam Erne and Colin Blackwell. And he was effective in almost every match.

He has 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists) in 10 games, which is less than he wants, but the team is also 6-3-1 over that span.

“It can be a good thing,” Seguin said of adversity. “You look at the last few weeks, and I’m not necessarily accumulating points, but these are times where in the past I could devalue myself and now, every day, I’m happy to be here.”

Seguin said he finds joy in small things like playing cards on the plane or spending time with his teammates. This shows how important 1,000 games are to the veteran forward.

“It’s cool now,” Seguin said of the feat. “Some things that happened during the [past] handful of years. It’s nothing I’ve ever thought about before, but it’s cool to be here.

“It’s just at different times over the years, there have been times where I wasn’t completely locked in and I would come back or I would have something left,” he said. “Now just being healthy and contributing in different ways is awesome.”