Boston Bruins: Where is Milan Lucic?

Oct 9, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Boston Bruins left wing

(17) skates with the puck defended by Detroit Red Wings center

(15) in the second period at Joe Louis Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Milan Lucic has been the total package for the Boston Bruins the last few seasons. He’s an aggressive forward with a solid shot. He buys in to the Julien system, and can play defensive hockey. He’s also known to drop the gloves with passion and intensity.

So, where has that Milan Lucic been? Sure, we’re only two games into the season, but Lucic has been more or less invisible for the Black and Gold. Lucic has zero shots and only two registered hits so far. Part of this has to be about the big guy getting his timing back after coming back wrist surgery.  There is more than that. I haven’t seen much fire in Lucic’s game, nor has their been the emotional component to his game at this point. Lucic seemed to be playing on auto-pilot in the matchups against the Flyers and Red Wings.

Lucic is the type of player that works best with his linemates. He had near instant chemistry with Jarome Iginla, and he’s completely in sync with Krejci. Lucic usually plays with his heart on his sleeve, and that worked great with such a great technical player like Krejci. At the moment, Lucic is playing with Matt Fraser and Ryan Spooner. While both players have skill sets in their own right, they just don’t seem to be clicking with Lucic. They’re effectively the third line for Boston.

One of the reasons the Bruins pulled the trigger on the Johnny Boychuk trade was to clear up space so they could put together a contract extension for Lucic. Lucic is twenty six years old, and he’s about to enter the prime of his career. I would certainly love to see Lucic play his entire career in Boston. But right now it’s necessary for him to step up for the Black and Gold. Last night, the Bruins only had seventeen shots on net against the Red Wings, and Brad Marchand and Zdeno Chara counted for ten of them. The B’s need more firepower bought to the crease, and Lucic’s guns have been sorely missed.