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Milan Lucic is the key to the Bruins top line, but must get better

Montreal Canadiens v Boston Bruins - Game One

in Game One of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden on April 14, 2011 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Boston Bruins 2-0.

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Boston’s Milan Lucic had his best season as a Bruin this year. With 30 goals and 32 assists the hulking power forward asserted himself the way Bruins faithful would hope he would when he arrived on the scene in Boston. While his physical play made many Boston fans think of Hall Of Famer Cam Neely, Lucic’s output never came close to that of Neely until this season.

With the playoffs under way and the Bruins trailing Montreal 2-1 in the series, the Bruins are hoping to see Lucic evoke Neely all over again. While Lucic’s linemates David Krejci and Nathan Horton found ways to get on the board in Game 3 with goals of their own, Lucic is still without a point and is a -2 through three games. Lucic knows he has to be better and while the pressure to perform is high, especially in Boston, the Bruins know they need Lucic to be better to win.

CSN New England’s Joe Haggerty talks about how the Bruins top line has to get Lucic going if they’re going to go far in the playoffs.

The combination of offensive playmaking and brutish physicality to create some impact in the offensive end is the hallmark of Lucic’s game, and it hasn’t taken place thus far against the Habs.

“We obviously felt like we did not get enough done the first two games. You look at our scoring chances – in the first game I think we only had one chance as a line and the second I think again we only had one scoring chance as a line,” said Lucic. “We were able to generate more, but still I think we are going to have to keep working and working hard and working smart.”

One thing that could help Lucic to get his game back on track: focusing on the pounding physical play that always helps him regain his offensive mojo, and shortening his shifts a bit so he’s not skating himself into an exhausted shell. It appears that Lucic doesn’t have the energy left in the tank to remove players from the puck or finish off great opportunities when he gets them at the tail end of marathon shifts.


Lucic’s ability as both a scorer and physical hell-raiser are intertwined, the more he hits the better he plays and the better chances he gets to make room for himself on the ice to score. With how tight-checking this series with Montreal has been so far, that physical play from Lucic has been absent.

With Krejci rolling as the top center and Horton in his first playoffs, getting consistent play from Lucic would do wonders for the Bruins in this series. If he can get things going, that initial 2-0 hole the Bruins found themselves in will go away quickly.