Despite PK issues, Seidenberg confident for Game 7

TAMPA, Fla. -- Boston defenseman Dennis Seidenberg played almost half of Wednesday's Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals at St. Pete Times Forum.

The veteran defenseman, who finished with 28 minutes and 17 seconds of ice time, is consequently uniquely qualified to break down a heartbreaking 5-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, a defeat that will extend this series to a winner-take-all Game 7 at TD Garden on Friday night.

Seidenberg played even strength, was on the penalty-killing unit that allowed three straight goals to Tampa Bay's suddenly resurgent power play, and also played on the power play, which struck for the first time since Game 2 – and for just the fifth time in 17 postseason games. He was also in the box when Marty St. Louis tied the game 2-2 almost midway through the second period.

In the end, was a plus-1, had three shots on goal, two hits and blocked three Tampa Bay shots, including one that appeared to be a sure goal.

Here are his thoughts on Game 6:

Q: What was the difference with their power play tonight?

A: They were shooting the puck more, getting around the net and getting to the bounces. The one goal when I was in the box, the puck seemed to go in the corner and it came back in front of the net and St. Louis is there to put it more or less in an empty net. They were just doing a better job of getting to rebounds and out-battling us in front of the net.

Q:  How frustrating is it that your power play looked better and you had some good chances and you are not getting rewarded for it?

A: It's frustrating. At the end you have to take the positives out of it. We had shots. But in the end, results count and they were more effective and efficient with their power play.

Q: Do you take any solace out of the pushback in the last 10 minutes?

A: It just shows how we can play. We just have to find a way to play like that. It's tough to do the whole game because it is the last push, but we can take positives out of it and take out what we did well in this 10 minutes and just try to add them into our whole game.

Q: On the power play, are you not doing what Tampa Bay did tonight -- getting pucks to the net and battling for rebounds?

A: I think we did do a better job than we have in the past few games. We got pucks there. We just didn't get the bounces. I mean, the puck is right there, but we just couldn't find the rebounds. We have to take the positive out of it and think about how we moved the puck and supported each other on the power play and go from there.
 
Q: Do you like the look of Zdeno Chara up front? Does that help you guys?

A: It seemed to help us today. He definitely takes a lot of space up and vision away from the goalie. We definitely created more chances than in the past.

Q: Do you feel confident with your showing late in this game and your success against Montreal in a Game 7 in the first round that you will bring your best effort in Game 7?

A: I think everybody in this locker room feels confident. We have a lot of veteran leadership and guys know how to handle the pressure and approach Game 7s, and I think everybody is going to be ready for the next game.