Boston Bruins: Will Milan Lucic be good for Opening Night?
May 3, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Milan Lucic (17) reacts after scoring an empty net goal during the third period against the Montreal Canadiens in game two of the second round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Banknorth Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Milan Lucic is about to start his eighth season in the NHL. All eight of those seasons have been in a Boston Bruins jersey, and the Black and Gold have made the playoffs every year. Part of the reason for the Bruins success is Lucic’s role as the “power foward”. (If your abilities are so overwhelming you force two teams into a rebuild (Buffalo Sabres and the Vancouver Canucks), you’ve earned that title.)
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He’s the type of player that can rack up some truly unusual numbers. He’s racked up at least fifty points in the last four full seasons for Boston. He also averages nearly one hundred minutes in penalties a season (691 PIM in seven seasons). He’s also at his best when he has strong support on the top line. He took the Bruins to the Stanley Cup final twice paired with David Krejci and Nathan Horton. (He also got the loudest cheers when he hoisted that Cup when the Bruins won it all in 2011.) He got to work with Future Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla last season, and that disappointing end is only pushing Lucic to success this year.
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“Every time you have surgery, it never really goes back to 100 percent, right? But you hope that you get back to a point where you were feeling as good as before the surgery. For myself, just trying to get mentally healthy, get it out of the way. The mental part of it — that part is also a big part to overcome, as far as shooting and just pushing and all that type of stuff.” -Bruins forward Milan Lucic
Lucic announced that he won’t be at one hundred percent when he starts training camp later this week. He had surgery on his left wrist after the Montreal series, and the rehab has certainly curtailed his physical conditioning. “As far as upper body goes, it impacted everywhere,” said Lucic to the media. “I hadn’t been able to do a push-up until a week ago because of it being right on the joint. It’s something you need to work at with rehab, and we still have some time before the season starts. As camp goes along you want to get your legs underneath you, but I also want to build my strength up.”
So, what can we expect from Lucic at the start of this season? He’s got three weeks before opening night, and it’s doubtful he’ll be good to go on opening night. Last season, Lucic was very consistent scoring (and fighting) for the Black and Gold. We may see Lucic in a limited role in October (and he may not even be on the B’s top line). It’s important for the fan base to know this, and it’s important for his brother Bruins (*cough* Brad Marchand *cough*) to be ready to pick up the offensive slack during those first few weeks.
Once November comes around though, Milan Lucic will become his usual unstoppable self.