WILMINGTON, Mass. — As far as Nathan Horton is concerned, hockey players don't come with a more complete arsenal than what his linemate Milan Lucic possesses.
Lucic might not light the lamp as often as the league's top snipers, set up scoring chances as effortlessly as the most gifted playmakers or pummel opponents as thoroughly as the elite enforcers, but there aren't many players around who combine all those elements in one package like Lucic.
"That's him, that's why I call him the ultimate, because he is the ultimate hockey player," said Horton. "It's nice to watch and it's definitely nice to be on his line."
Lucic put all his best attributes on display Tuesday night in Washington, collecting a Gordie Howe Hat Trick with a goal, an assist and a fight in a 3-1 win over the Capitals. It was Lucic's second career Gordie, which ties him with the man for whom the feat was named.
"I just heard that I tied Gordie Howe in Gordie Howe Hat Tricks, so that's the fun fact of the day I guess," said Lucic after practice Wednesday at Ristuccia Arena. "That's something pretty cool for me."
So what does Lucic have planned for an encore when the Bruins host Washington in a rematch Thursday in their home opener at the Garden?
"I'll do whatever I can to repeat the performance," said Lucic. "Right now there's obviously a good feeling going on with this team. We're playing hard, but we can't start getting comfortable. We can't be satisfied. We know that Washington is a team with a lot of character and they're going to come out hard and try to even up the series."
Lucic hasn’t allowed himself to get complacent at all this season. He's too driven to make up for a disappointing campaign last year, when a broken finger and a high ankle sprain limited him to just 50 games, and even when he played he was just a shell of his usual dominant physical presence.
"Obviously I was disappointed with how things went last year," said Lucic. "The main focus of the summer was just to get back and regain that identity that I created for myself and have a little bit of redemption this season. It didn't even feel like I played a full season last year, so it was definitely an anxious summer for me to get back and [start] playing again. I'm definitely excited every time I get out there."
Bruins coach Claude Julien likes the version of Lucic he's seen so far this season, but noted that last year's struggles can't all be excused by the injuries.
"I think he missed the first half of the season and it's hard to catch up," said Julien. "So he was a little behind the 8-ball for most of the year until the playoffs [when] he seemed to find his game again. This year he gets a fresh start. But at the same time we're not just going to point the finger at his ankle. I think he's playing with a lot more energy and he certainly seems excited about his new line and what he's accomplished so far. Excitement creates energy and energy usually creates good things."
Lucic's excitement has been shared by his new linemates, as Horton, Lucic and David Krejci have combined for seven goals and 17 points in the first four games of the season.
"It's great playing with those two," said Lucic, who has three goals and two assists. "We've been able to find some chemistry early on in the season. I think the main thing is we just have fun playing with one another. We've just got to go out there and keep performing every night and keep being hard on one another to try to be that best line every night."
Lucic has been equally hard on himself, but he was able to enjoy his performance Tuesday night, and the most satisfaction may have come from his third-period dustup with Washington defenseman John Erskine. In one of his first fights as a rookie in 2007-08, Lucic suffered one of his worst losses in a bout with Erskine, but fared much better this time around.
"A little bit better," said Lucic. "It was just something that happened in the game, just two guys going at it. I'm definitely a lot more experienced now. The only way you're going to get good at fighting is if you do it more and more. Now that I'm older and wiser, I definitely didn't want to make the same mistake that I did last time against him."
Lucic also doesn't want to repeat his struggles to score at home this season. Last year, his only regular-season tally at the Garden was an empty-net strike in the final game against Carolina.
"The only goal I scored at home last year was that empty-netter, but I think in the playoffs I was able to score three there at home, so hopefully I can keep that going," said Lucic. "I think as a team and for myself, we shouldn't change a thing. We just have to keep playing the way we're playing. Obviously there's that temptation to put on a show for the crowd, but our mindset shouldn't be that at all. We should just keep doing what we've been doing, keep things simple and make good, strong plays."
