Bruins Feeding Off an Engaged, Energized Milan Lucic

The one thing Milan Lucic can’t control is what gets said about him by fans and the media. But there’s always room to respond to the critics.

His response over the last two games has quieted the naysayers for the time being.

Earlier in the week, the eighth-year power forward was the subject of trade rumors after the Bruins’ loss to the lowly Carolina Hurricanes last Sunday. With the Black and Gold struggling for consistency, an underperforming Lucic was the prime subject of scrutiny around The Hub of Hockey.

Against the Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils, the B’s got a motivated Lucic, who tallied two goals, two assists, five shots and was a plus-4 in back-to-back wins. It’s no coincidence that they also got two wins in 48 hours.

When Lucic is on his game, the team feeds off his energy. At a time when the Bruins needed that, the Vancouver-born winger was moving his feet and making opponents adjust to his style of play.

So what is contributing to Lucic becoming more motivated? Is it the trade talks? Is it playing with Patrice Bergeron and Daniel Paille? Is it desperation?

Whatever it is, the team is thankful for being more engaged.

“I think when he plays like that he’s definitely created a lot of chances for himself, but also for his teammates,” Bergeron said about his new linemate after Thursday’s 3-0 shutout over the Devils. “Definitely what we need for him, he’s definitely stepped up his game the last two games, for sure.”

With the revolving door on the first line right wing and with David Krejci’s hip issue plaguing him for most of the first half of the season, the weight on Lucic’s shoulders got heavier as he tried to fit in on other lines during his regular center’s absence.

Even when Krejci came back, Lucic still had his share of struggles. But in the last two games, he’s been keeping things simple and sticking to what he does best: being physical, going to the front of the net and creating havoc on opposing defenses.

“When you’re thinking too much and overthinking things, that’s when things aren’t happening,” Lucic said after Friday’s practice at TD Garden. “Don’t [try to] think too much. The system hasn’t changed here. We know how to play, so just go out there and do it. When we go out and do it, we’re a real successful team.”

“It doesn’t always have to be fancy,” Lucic added. “We’re just playing that straight line type of game and trying to get in on the forecheck, and, you know, be first on pucks and battles and create [offensive] zone time and create chances for ourselves. That’s what’s given us in the last two games, and we always talk about how we gotta go back to basics to have things going in the right direction, and I feel like that’s what we’ve done.”

There’s nothing fancy about Lucic and the rest of the Black and Gold. They don’t thrive on finesse, they instead bill themselves as a tough, blue collar bunch. That’s what helped them end a 39-year Stanley Cup drought and establish themselves as one of the perennial powers in the NHL.

From injuries to questionable transactions, the Bruins got away from that work ethic they thrived on earlier in the year. After the last two games, however, that work ethic could be coming back for Lucic and the other 19 players who don the Spoked B nightly.

“I just think [it’s] kind of not doing anything real fancy, it’s just playing that straight-line type of hockey that I can play that’s really effective,” Lucic said. “That’s kind of gotten my game going in the right direction. I think not just for myself, individually – I think as a team, we’re starting to get things going in the right direction by playing the right way.”

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