He racked up 443 hits, 225 penalty minutes and 23 fighting majors over 149 games in his first two NHL seasons. But after an injury-plagued third campaign in 2009-10, he's developed more of a scoring touch the past two years.
Last year, he led the Bruins with 30 goals, and Saturday he reached the 20-goal mark in his 52nd game with a clutch, game-tying tally with 1:07 to play in regulation before Boston beat Nashville 4-3 in a shootout.
"You know definitely when you have a season like I did last year, you kind of set a bar for yourself and you want to keep that consistency in your game," Lucic said. "I'm still young so you want to try to get better every year. It's been great I've been able to get to that 20-goal mark two straight years. There's 29 games left and hopefully I can get to the 30 mark again."
But even as he pursues 30 goals again, Lucic has not forgotten the other element that makes his game so impactful. He's the only player in the NHL this season to have amassed both 20 goals and 100 penalty minutes, and he has no plans of abandoning the physical side of his game.
"That's a part of my game and you know it's something I've worked hard at in creating my space since I was a rookie," Lucic said. "It's been there, definitely this year, and I need to keep that physical side to it because I don't think I get the one thing without the other. So I've just got to focus on being physical and doing those types of things."
The Bruins certainly don't want Lucic to change, as his team-high 120 hits and 107 PIMs provide space for both himself and his linemates to produce offense.
"I guess, as you mature in this league and you become, I guess more of a wily veteran, you understand that all of those parts of your game are important, that you combine them," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "And he's a guy that has to be a physical player, has to play the game hard, and because of that, he does end up with penalties. But at the same time, he's a guy that has been scoring some goals with us in the last few years -– I think 30 or so last year, and this year, again, he's on that same pace. So he's about to produce without taking away the element of his game, which is forechecking and hitting, and the way he forechecked [Saturday] gave us that tying goal that got us back in the game."
Shawn Thornton is the only Bruin with more penalty minutes than Lucic this year, with Thornton's 117 giving him a 10-minute edge. Thornton also has shown an ability to do more than just brawl, scoring 10 goals last season and setting up Daniel Paille on Saturday with a nifty backhanded pass out of the corner.
But Thornton still appreciates the rare blend of both elements that Lucic brings to the table.
"I've had an appreciation of him for the last five years," Thornton said. "He's definitely a special type of player, and we're very fortunate to have him."
Thornton was surprised to learn that Lucic had reached triple figures in PIMs, and wondered if he may have borrowed a few from his own collection.
"He has a hundred minutes?" Thornton asked. "Good for him.
"I have too many, I can give a few away," Thornton added.
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