Penalties and a Drew Stafford hat trick did the Bruins in as they fell to the Sabres, 3-2, on Wednesday (recap), but the more significant big-picture story was that the game marked the first time Tyler Seguin was a healthy scratch.

While some might feel the image of Seguin in a suit is a negative for the No. 2 pick or impatience on the part of the Bruins, it could prove to be neither. Furthermore, the B's loss on Wednesday had nothing to do with Seguin or Daniel Paille. They couldn't hold a lead (they had two leads for a total of 1:20) and, whether they deemed it fair or not, found themselves in the box at the wrong time. 

Shawn Thornton went off for goaltender interference in the third, which led to Stafford's third goal of the night -- the game-winner -- while the B's had to pull Tuukka Rask just to have five skaters after Milan Lucic said something to a referee from the bench and was slapped with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at at 18:22. 

The Bruins had leads in the first and third periods thanks to goals from David Krejci and Michael Ryder, respectively. It was goal No. 9 for Ryder, who is now on pace for 25 goals after scoring 18 a season ago. 

Here is the Hat Trick:

STEVEN STAMKOS WAS A HEALTHY SCRATCH, TOO 

This might be an unpopular opinion, but cut the Bruins some slack for sitting Tyler Seguin. Nobody's ever going to compare Daniel Paille to Steven Stamkos like they do with Seguin, but in the long-run -- and maybe even this season -- they could prove to be better off by giving the youngster the night off. 

Seguin didn't do anything wrong, and at face value is quite clearly one of those kids who everyone will say "gets it." But it's not whether or not he's a mature young adult that factors into the decision to scratch him. It's the fact that, whether or not he's a talented, professional or (insert positive cliche adjective used to praise a prospect) kid, he is, at the end of the day, still a kid. He's 18 years old. His rookie year is a learning process, and some learning can be done from the press box every now and then. 

His speed and touch as a scorer are like those of few in the NHL. His talent is without question, and he never says anything wrong. That doesn't mean that he is already Stamkos. Hell, Stamkos wasn't who he is now at this juncture of his rookie year. It took him until February to explode into one of the most feared goal-scorers in the league, and that came after being -- that's right -- a healthy scratch. 

Rick Tocchet gave Stamkos nights off to watch the game from the press box, take notes and follow up the next day with classroom sessions. It paid off for Stamkos both that season and as his career progressed. 

Does this mean Seguin, like Stamkos, will explode after having to sit out of Wednesday's game? 

(It might be hard for some to not scream "YES" to that given how easy it might be to assume Seguin will continue to have everything in common with the Lightning wunderkind.)

Realistically, it is hard to say, but sometimes one thing can set Seguin on a course of red-hot play. His first year of juniors, it was a coaching change. Last year, it was getting cut from the World Juniors team. He often says that getting cut from that team was the most adversity he's ever faced, and he responded by shooting up the prospect list to be the top-ranked player in June's draft by Central Scouting.

Seguin will have the chance to respond to this just like he did with past adversity, but sitting out a game or two isn't going to make him any less special a prospect. He's 18, and he's good. Just remember that first part every now and then. 

A BIT OF A DEPARTURE

I noted in my preview of Wednesday's game the impressive nature with which the Bruins stayed out of the box in a couple of their recent games. They drew only one minor penalty in both Saturday's game against the Flyers and last Tuesday's contest against against the Sabres.

This time around, things were a bit different.   

The B's overcame eight minor penalties back on Nov. 3 against the Sabres to grab a 5-2 win, but the five minors they took on Wednesday hurt a whole lot. 

Stafford, who was playing for the first time in four games after a shoulder injury kept him out of the lineup, scored two of his three goals with the Sabres on the power play. The Shawn Thornton goaltender interference call was iffy, and so too was Milan Lucic's boarding call, but apparently Dan O'Rourke wanted the complaints to be limited to fans and media. 

Lucic's unsportsmanlike conduct call, warranted or not, was a heartbreaker for the B's. Lucic told reporters after the game that he called the ref "a joke" and said it was "embarrassing" when he failed to call Thomas Vanek for the same boarding call later.

Lucic added that he didn't "know what [O'Rourke] was thinking" in giving Lucic a minor penalty rather than a 10-minute game-misconduct. 

Because of the minor, the Bruins had to play 5-on-5 hockey with an empty net as they attempted to pull even in the final seconds of the game, a comeback they failed to complete. 

RECCHI CAN'T HELP BUT REACH MILESTONES

Mark Recchi skated in his 1600th career game on Wednesday night. Given all that he's accomplished, he might not pay attention to each and every milestone he reaches, but if he finishes out the season without getting injured or getting nights off, he'll have a big one coming up. 

If Recchi plays the rest of the Bruins' regular-season games this season, he will have played 1653 games. That will help him leapfrog the likes of Ray Bourque, Larry Murphy, Scott Stevens, Dave Andreychuk and Chris Chelios and into fourth place all-time for games played. 

Recchi would also be the only player in the top-five of games played to have done it in fewer than 23 seasons. Gordie Howe (1767 games in 26 seasons), Mark Messier (1756 in 25), Ron Francis (1731 in 23) and Chelios (1651 in 26) all took longer, though Howe of course played with shorter seasons.