OTTAWA — The line that once was and could still be took the Canadian Tire Centre ice on Saturday for the second exhibition game of the World Cup of Hockey.
But instead of black and gold, Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and Tyler Seguin were wearing the red and white of Team Canada in the home team’s 5-2 win over Team USA. Seguin was even flying around in his old No. 19, with Steven Stamkos assuming international ownership of No. 91.
Painful, no?
The boys were back together for the first time in more than three years because Sidney Crosby was a healthy scratch. With Crosby out, Bergeron, formerly the Pittsburgh captain’s right wing, shifted to center the Canadians’ No. 1 line. Seguin came along for the ride.
The old 63-37-19 line will not be together when the tournament starts for real. On Saturday, Crosby will be back between Marchand and Bergeron for Canada’s opener against the Czech Republic. The line combined for 18 of Canada’s 42 shots in the exhibition opener, including Bergeron’s game-high eight pucks on net.
“One of the reasons we took Sid out tonight was we really feel we have a good line,’’ said coach Mike Babcock. “We don’t have to worry about it too much with Bergy and Marshy.’’
As such, Bergeron between Marchand and Seguin did not last very long. At the end of the first, Claude Giroux replaced Seguin, who skated on several lines before settling in with Joe Thornton and Matt Duchene. In the third, Seguin took another shift with his old linemates.
“Marshy’s still buzzing around,’’ Seguin said. “I still know where to be on the strong side of the slot if he’s going to find me. In different areas, he still has the same tendencies. Bergy’s going to be so good in our own zone. I almost forgot to collapse too hard with him out there because he’s so responsible. It’s definitely fun, for starters, just being on this team with them.’’
The short-lived reunion, however, brought back memories of May 13, 2013. That night, the three ex-linemates nearly thumped their heads on the TD Garden ceiling after leaping to celebrate Bergeron scoring the overtime winner in Game 7 against Toronto in the opening round. It should have been an occurrence for years to come.
Bergeron was becoming one of the best 200-foot players in the league. Marchand was developing into a powerful presence in his third season on Bergeron’s left flank. Seguin, just 21 years old, was flashing bursts of becoming more explosive than a Samsung Galaxy Note 7.
Together, they could have been one of the NHL’s most dangerous lines: speed, feistiness, agility, defensive awareness, strength on the puck, and offensive wizardry blended into a threesome that coach Claude Julien could deploy in any situation.
Everybody knows what kept that from happening. On July 4, 2013, the Bruins lit off their own fireworks by trading Seguin, Rich Peverley, and Ryan Button to Dallas for Loui Eriksson, Reilly Smith, Matt Fraser, and Joe Morrow. Concerns about Seguin’s off-ice behavior drove the deal. Everybody knows what happened next.
Seguin, burning to prove his former employer wrong, shifted to center and ripped it up. Seguin and Jamie Benn turned into one of the league’s best offensive tandems. Seguin has scored 107 of his 163 career goals in a Dallas jersey.
That the Bruins found Seguin’s conduct impossible to condone can be excused. Their return and what they did with it cannot.
Morrow (1-6—7 in 33 games, 15:54 average ice time per appearance last year) is the only member of the trade still standing in Boston. Eriksson, one of the Bruins’ four best forwards, walked for nothing on July 1 when he signed a six-year, $36 million contract with Vancouver. Edmonton claimed Fraser on waivers on Dec. 29, 2014.
As if the Seguin trade wasn’t already a historic blunder, the Bruins made it worse by dealing Smith and Marc Savard’s contract to Florida for Jimmy Hayes. Seguin and Smith, who both saw time on Bergeron’s right side, have been go-to players on their new teams. Meanwhile, Hayes, Brett Connolly, and Lee Stempniak cycled through the spot formerly occupied by Seguin and Smith.
Hayes is Hayes. Connolly (acquired for two second-rounders) was not tendered and signed with Washington. Stempniak (traded for second- and fourth-round picks) walked and signed with Carolina.
The Seguin trade underscores why the Bruins are caught in their current gear-grinding cycle. Rotten trades (Seguin, Smith, Dougie Hamilton, Johnny Boychuk) and poor drafting have left the Bruins facing an unenviable scenario: their star players aging out before their top-flight prospects (Zach Senyshyn, Brandon Carlo, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, Jeremy Lauzon, Charlie McAvoy) are old enough to grow playoff beards. No trade will be worse than the Seguin deal.
But for spurts of one night, Seguin was back with Marchand, his good friend and next-door neighbor in Canada’s dressing room. Neither seemed to mind.
“It was good,’’ Marchand said. “Anytime you’re reunited with a line, it’s fun. He’s such a talented player. We only had three shifts. But I thought we did pretty good.’’
Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeFluto.
