The visa issues that have kept Chris Kelly locked in Scotiabank Place the last three days (mostly kidding) won’t be an issue with the Bruins in Ottawa Friday night, so after a 6-3 win over the Islanders on Thursday (recap), it seems the Bruins will finally have their newest addition in the lineup.

The B’s acquired Kelly after Tuesday’s game for a second-round pick, but immigration issues have prevented Kelly, a Canadian citizen previously working in Canada, from being able to attend Wednesday’s practice in Wilmington or Thursday’s game on Long Island. The question as to when the Bruins would actually see the center seems to be answered, but the question of where he’ll be in the lineup or who will sit as a result remain unknown. 

In the case of where he’ll fit in the lineup, the answer shouldn’t be so obvious despite what we’ve heard to this point. 

“We acquired him for that third line, but there’s versatility there also,” general manager Peter Chiarelli said in the press conference that followed the trade. 

Claude Julien wasn’t so quick to make such a comment, as he went the safe route in saying he needed to see the player before penciling him into the lineup. Only one game has been played since the trade, but the performance of that third line makes you wonder whether it’s worth touching the third line of Blake Wheeler, Tyler Seguin, and Michael Ryder. 

Despite inconsistencies in individual performances, Seguin and Ryder have been beneficial to one another since Ryder’s Hail Mary pass to the rookie for the second overall pick’s first career goal on Oct. 10. Depending on which rumors you choose to believe, you can question whether Wheeler will be around for much longer, but still the trio of Wheeler, Seguin and Ryder is one that could stand to be left alone. 

Why should there be hesitance to insert a third-line center into the team’s third line? Because Seguin showed for the first time in a long time Thursday that he knows what he needs to do to be more of a difference maker and less of a developing player. 

Outside of watching YouTube highlights and talking to coaches, we didn’t know much of what Seguin could do coming into Boston other than score. As could be seen in some games this season, and most notably Sunday’s loss to the Red Wings in Detroit, scoring isn’t everything. The rookie had a nice goal in front of the net in the first period Sunday, but a defensive lapse cost the team the game-deciding goal, and Seguin won just one of 13 faceoffs.

Players can score and have bad games, and even in the games leading up to his healthy scratches last week, it was clear that he wasn’t getting ice time because he wasn’t playing well. 

Thursday was a different case. In addition to filling the goal-scorer’s quota with a second period tally off a pass from Shawn Thornton, Seguin was engaged and aggressive to the point of him diving to keep the puck in the zone in the midst of a blowout. He was on the ice for both of John Tavares’ goals (the first of which was a result of a bad pass behind Seguin from Milan Lucic; the second of which seemed to surprise both Seguin and Adam McQuaid when Rask gave up the rebound on Jack Hillen’s shot), but the rookie didn’t find himself out of position or prove to cost the Bruins defensively — something that’s happened a fair amount as the youngster has adjusted to the NHL.I

"I think he's playing a little harder. he's competing a little harder," Julien said in his postgame interview with NESN Thursday. "At one point he wasn't really using the skills that he had his whole life to his advantage."  

Is one performance enough to make the Bruins careful about potentially messing with a player’s line? When it’s Tyler Seguin, it is. When it’s the kid who could eventually have a Steven Stamkos-like impact on a team, it is.

This space hasn’t been an area for nonsensical Seguin hype, but there’s no denying that when there are positive signs from the rookie, the Bruins should run with them. Julien has his rewards system that has benefited the likes of Brad Marchand and Gregory Campbell, and if Seguin can show in future games what he showed Thursday against the Islanders, he can expect to be rewarded with the ice time a player of his caliber usually receives. 

With that being said, the B’s should — despite some very good performances over his last four games — consider returning Daniel Paille to his familiar healthy scratch status. Until Seguin shows signs of lethargy from night to night, his healthy scratch days shouldn’t be too frequent, so Paille becomes (and again, this is barring a trade) the odd man out by default.

Kelly can at the very least get his feet wet playing with Campbell and Shawn Thornton Friday in Ottawa while Julien figures out a role for the newcomer. Though the 30-year-old will be the center of attention in his debut, the team should be careful with the 19-year-old through whatever tinkering the lineup may endure.