Milan Lucic Knows What Bruins, Fans Expect From Him This Season

BOSTON -- Milan Lucic broke into the NHL with the Bruins when he was 19 years old as a prototypical power forward.

He loved to hit. He loved to fight. He loved to score.

He was often compared to former Bruins great and current president Cam Neely.

Not much has changed in Lucic's game in the past 16 years.

"Well, I think that's something that's kept me in the league still," Lucic told NESN.com after the Bruins practice at TD Garden on Monday morning. "So that hasn't changed from a physical aspect and being physical on a game-to-game basis. So I think that's expected from me, not only from the fans but from my coaches and my teammates, and what I need to do to help the team win. That's something that I've always kept in my game."

Lucic added: "I've always been either the leader or one of the leaders on my team in hits so when I'm playing with that physical edge in that joyful aggression, that's when I'm at my best so I have I definitely need to bring that to continue to help my team win."

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With 88 fighting majors in his career, the 6-foot-3, 240-pound Lucic has never been one to shy away from dropping the gloves either in his own defense or that of a teammate. He's aware the Bruins faithful will expect nothing less when Boston begins their centennial season on Wednesday night.

"It's great. And I think that's something that comes with playing in Boston. They have a lot of expectations from you as an individual and as a team.," Lucic said. "I created a reputation for myself with how I played here for eight years. They're going to expect a lot out of me. So that's part of the reason why I came back because I've always fed off the energy of the crowd and their expectations.

"I think it's something to look forward to and something to have fun with. I loved having that connection with the fans in the past, and that's something that I look to do moving forward this year. So it's a great thing to have pressure and expectation. So I've always been able to find a way to thrive and thrive off of it."

The pressure of playing in Boston for an Original Six team is not something Lucic will have to worry about. He's been here. He's done that.

In his previous eight years with Boston, Lucic had 139 goals and 203 assists in 566 games. And 55 of his 88 fights happened when he was wearing the Spoked-B on his chest.