Milan Lucic Regaining Power as Bruins Embark on Season’s Stretch Run
The rugged winger, in the words of one NHL scout, recently “has been a shell of himself” and has not been the bruising and intimidating player capable of becoming a prototypical power forward. The difference has been so drastic that it seems hard to believe that one year ago, many were comparing Lucic to Hall of Famer and Bruins vice president Cam Neely.
Lucic has battled injuries all season, missing 14 games from Oct. 17 to Nov. 16 with a broken index finger and then another 18 games from Nov. 27 to Jan. 5 with a high ankle sprain.
In Sunday’s 2-1 win over the Rangers, in which he had an assist and three hits in 11:46 of ice time, Lucic looked like the player that Bruins fans had grown to love in his first two seasons. Even more importantly, he offered reason to believe that he can be that player in the final 11 games and the playoffs, should the Bruins make it.
"I think we saw a close version of what he can be today," Claude Julien said of Lucic, who played probably his best game since returning from the high ankle sprain.
Lucic acknowledged after the big win Sunday that the injuries took their toll, especially the high ankle sprain, not just physically but mentally as well. They caused him to be a bit hesitant, instead of being the crash-and-bang type winger that Bruins fans had grown accustomed to seeing fly around the ice. To work through this mental road block, Lucic sought the help of Neely, a player that overcame injuries throughout his storied career.
"The mental part has probably been the toughest part,” Lucic said. “I talked to a lot of guys and talked to Cam, because obviously he went through that with his injuries and the comebacks, still being able to play at his best going through what he went through. It takes a toll on you mentally, and it's about trying to get back every day to push myself harder and be more of a contributor to this hockey club."
On Sunday, it seemed Lucic wasn’t distracted by his ankle, and finally, the hesitancy in his game was gone. This was no more evident than on a thunderous hit he laid on Rangers defenseman Matt Gilroy as the Rangers were making a line change.
"For me, it's not always about getting goals but also really being physical as you saw with that hit there," Lucic said.
Getting physical and scoring has been a team-wide problem as well, and Lucic knows he and his teammates need to contribute in those areas right now.
"We gotta all step up every night," Lucic said. "You know [Patrice Bergeron], [Marco Sturm] and [Mark] Recchi did a great job on that recent trip, but we need different guys every night stepping up and taking on big roles, and it's going to take all of us doing our parts."
