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Has Jakub Lauko been the secret weapon to Bruins’ success?
"He's a buzzsaw."
Since the start of the 2022-23 season, the Bruins have compiled a record of 94-20-14.
Several factors have contributed to Boston’s dominant regular-season run over that stretch, be it an elite goalie duo of Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman, Jim Montgomery’s arrival behind the bench, or elite star talent like David Pastrnak.
But what about the presence of bottom-six stalwart Jakub Lauko?
After all, it’s tough to ignore the stats.
As noted by NHL Public Relations on Monday night, Lauko has appeared in 57 total games with Boston since making his NHL debut on Oct. 12, 2022. In those 57 games, the Bruins are 44-8-5 (93 points) — with his .772 winning percentage marking the highest by a skater in NHL history (min. 50 GP).
The 23-year-old winger deflected any praise when asked about his role in Boston’s sustained success on Tuesday — opting to focus more on the rest of his teammates in the dressing room.
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“Last year, I [noticed] like every time when I was in the lineup, I think we lost like maybe two games last year. So I was kind of thinking about it. But I had no idea it’s a thing,” Lauko said. “It’s more people from back home are kind of making fun of me — like ‘Oh you’re the best at something, good for you.’”
“No, it’s more about the teams that I’ve been on. Last year obviously was a very special year. We’re building something special this year as well, so it’s nice to be on the winning [side] for most of my career up here.”
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Lauko may be just one cog on the Bruins’ reworked forward corps. But after avoiding a near-catastrophic eye injury in October and trudging through a sustained scoring slump, he is rounding into form as an on-ice spark plug for Boston.
After spending most of the 2023-24 campaign on the fourth line, Montgomery bumped Lauko up the depth chart and slotted him alongside Trent Frederic and Morgan Geekie. Since that promotion, he’s scored two goals and posted points in three straight games.
In Boston’s 4-1 win over the Jets on Monday night, Lauko lit the lamp following a sustained forechecking shift, punching a slick feed from Frederic home to open the scoring just 2:20 into regulation. He later drew his eighth penalty of the season in the third period after getting tripped up by Winnipeg’s Nino Niederreiter.
“I see someone that is winning more one-on-one battles consistently,” Montgomery said of Lauko. “I see someone supporting pucks and just going — I don’t see any hesitation in his game right now. So you see him getting on top of pucks that are chipped out — he’s got it and he’s putting it in areas or carrying and hanging on to it. So I just see a more confident hockey player.”
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Lauko has pointed to several things that have sparked his recent surge: a self-orchestrated reset during Boston’s latest road trip, his elevated minutes in the lineup and… grapes?
The affable forward explained his affinity for the fruit on Tuesday.
“When I was playing back home, I usually had a lot of fruit before the game, like oranges, peaches, grapes, or whatever. I came to Providence and we didn’t have anything, so I just started bringing in fruit for a game,” Lauko noted. “I was just trying different kinds of fruit: watermelons, oranges, but I was saying — If I have an orange, I have to peel it… hands get sticky. The same with peaches, I’d bite it and juice is all over my mouth, it would get everywhere.
“I tried grapes one day and I think I scored like two goals… So I kept going with grapes and now it’s more like a meme now.”
Whatever works for Lauko apparently works for the rest of the Bruins. After all, the team seems to be better served when he’s in the lineup.
“Happy for him. He’s a buzzsaw,” Jake DeBrusk said of Lauko on Monday. “I sit beside him in the room. So a lot of grapes get thrown my way… He works for it. He’s a guy that uses his speed to get on the forecheck, takes a lot of hits to get that puck, first touch and he’s one of those guys that deserves some recognition in the sense of how he stays with the game.”
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