Jim Montgomery Praises This ‘Underrated’ Milan Lucic Skill

Milan Lucic played in his first game with the Black and Gold on Wednesday for the first time since the 2014-15 season, and he made an immediate impact.

The 35-year-old unsurprisingly helped set the tone physically in the Bruins’ win over the Chicago Blackhawks at TD Garden, but he also was out making plays when he led a breakaway and dished out an assist to David Pastrnak to put Boston ahead.

It was an impressive outing, and head coach Jim Montgomery was asked at Warrior Ice Arena on Friday if Lucic’s performance would change the coaching staff’s expectations of his role.

“Yes and no. No, in a sense we knew he was going to be really important to our leadership corps,” Montgomery told reporters, per team-provided video. “And I knew that he’s not only a physical presence, but he can make plays. I think his ability to make plays is very underrated by everybody. He’s a guy that can make finishing plays. We saw it in the exhibition season, and we saw it (Wednesday). That backhand sauce, not a lot of people make that play that easily at full speed.

“But if he keeps playing like this, then obviously, he’s going to get rewarded with more ice time than even I envisioned, never mind everybody else. That’s because he’s building team game and making plays. … “

Johnny Beecher and Jakub Lauko also contributed to the Bruins’ opening-night win that celebrated the franchise’s centennial season. That could make Boston’s fourth line an even larger threat once the top-six forwards hit their stride.