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Seguin hopes to break early slump

Tyler Seguin

Boston Bruins center Tyler Seguin speaks to reporters at TD Garden in Boston, Friday, April 27, 2012, about their loss to the Washington Capitals in Game 7 and the Bruins’ elimination from the Stanley Cup hockey playoffs. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

AP

If you expected strong overseas play to translate into early-season results, then Tyler Seguin was likely one of the guys you’d expect to have a hot start.

Instead, he’s managed just an assist in four games for the Boston Bruins so far, so the 20-year-old told CSNNE.com’s Joe Haggerty that he’s trying to break out of that funk.

“I’m working on things,” Seguin said. “I’ve had pressure on myself since I didn’t have a goal after one period in the first game [of the year]. You’ve just got to not get frustrated. You know when you get one that you’ll get a bunch, and I just need to bear down and focus on the chances I’m getting. It’s about just keep shooting pucks at the net.”

Head coach Claude Julien suspects that he’s going through an adjustment period to the smaller NHL ice surfaces after roaming free on international ice in the Swiss league.

“When you’ve got a wider ice surface you have more area to spread out and work with,” Julien said. “Not only that, but when you’ve got a bigger ice surface teams can get a little more passive. When you give Tyler that kind of time he’s going to make plays.

“So it’s a little bit tighter here and a little bit more aggressive, and he’s making the adjustment. We see that. It’s not from lack of will as much as it’s about him adjusting [back to North America].”

Of course, there’s also the point that Seguin and the Bruins have played just four games so far this season. Even in a 48-game campaign, it might be a little hasty to condemn his 2013 production outright.