Kalman: Milan Lucic's Stretch Run Will Determine Bruins' Fate, His Future Home
BOSTON (CBS) -- The initial jolt of adrenaline that came from losing center David Krejci to injury and adding center Ryan Spooner wore off for the Bruins on Tuesday against Vancouver.
Nowhere was that loss of excitement felt more than on the line Krejci vacated with wingers Milan Lucic and David Pastrnak. Spooner filled in for Krejci against Chicago on Sunday and the trio chipped in with a few points during a 6-2 Bruins rout. When they weren't scoring, Lucic, Spooner and Pastrnak were using their mix of brute force, creativity and speed to wear the Blackhawks down so another line could get on the ice and score.
Against the Canucks in a 2-1 loss, the Bruins' worst fears about a Krejci-less existence for the late-season playoff push were realized. Although all four lines were guilty of failing to make goaltender Eddie Lack's night rougher and not finishing, the Pastrnak-Spooner-Lucic trio was particularly soft on Vancouver.
They combined for five shots on net at even strength, but for most of the 60 minutes, Lucic, Pastrnak and Spooner relegated themselves to the perimeter. Lucic landed one shot on net.
As they decide how to factor Krejci's absence into their trade discussions leading up to the NHL trade deadline next Monday, life would be easier on the Bruins if they were looking to replace just one player. But when Krejci's out, Lucic's drop-off in performance almost makes it seem like there are two major players out of the lineup.
Before the Bruins lost to the Canucks, Lucic sounded like a player ready to embrace his elder-statesman role on a line with a teenager and a 23-year-old with fewer than 50 games of NHL experience.
"Just kind of set the right example," Lucic explained in a response to a question about coach Claude Julien hoping Lucic would take the lead on his line. "I think obviously we had a good start with the way we played against Chicago, so we want to build off that. Obviously you want to give the two young guys on the line confidence and let them know that the only way the three of us are going to have success is if we do it together. I think early on this season I was trying to do everything by myself and kind of getting frustrated. But still, no matter how long you're in the league, you're still learning things. I think that's the thing that I've learned is the only way as a line that we're going to have success is if we're all on the same page and having fun and competing together."
Lucic hasn't been on the same page with many linemates or the Bruins front office's idea that he's an elite power forward for much of this season. He has 12 goals in 59 games. His goal in Chicago is now his only one in the past nine games. And so for the second season in the past three, he has greatly failed to meet the expectations that come with making $6 million per season on a team that's right up against the salary-cap ceiling.
Krejci has missed 22 games, so Lucic's problems go beyond playing without his main center. Even if you grant him some leeway for a slow start because he was returning from offseason wrist surgery when the season opened, you still have to wonder if Lucic will ever be the superstar the Bruins want and need him to be.
Lucic seems to think he knows what his problem is and how he should play to produce like he did when he scored 24 goals last season, mostly on a line with Krejci and the since-departed Jarome Iginla.
"My game should be simple, regardless of who I play with. That straight-line type of hockey, getting hard on the forecheck and making strong plays," he said. "I think the mind-set for myself is that's what I need to bring with these two guys in order for us to have success. Obviously the caliber of player that Krech is and that's he become, I think we've helped each other a lot to get to the point in our careers where we've had the success that we've had because we've fed off each other for the last five, six years as linemates. But these two guys [Pastrnak and Spooner] are excited to play and trying to establish themselves as NHL hockey players. I think for myself, you've just got to use their excitement and use their young legs to our advantage as a line and have some fun doing it."
After the Bruins pulled of their miracle comeback against Toronto in the final game of the first round in 2013, Lucic famously described the thoughts he was having when the team looked on the verge of losing. He talked about the Bruins breaking up the team and how he wouldn't be teammates with many of the Bruins again. This point in the penultimate season of his contract isn't completely as dire as that third period against the Maple Leafs, but with 22 games remaining in the 2014-15 season, the 26-year-old Lucic might want to summon the same type of desperation.
Should the Bruins fail to make the playoffs (or even if they turn out to be an easy team to eliminate once they get to the postseason) and Lucic doesn't perform at his peak, he could find himself elsewhere this summer. Players that take up such a large percentage of a team's salary cap and fail to earn their cap charge typically don't last into their contract year. Luckily for Lucic and the Bruins, there will be a market for the bulky left winger as long as highlight reels of his game-changing hits and that line on his resume that says he scored 30 goals one season exist. And as long as the Bruins have to get new contracts for Torey Krug, Dougie Hamilton and Reilly Smith, and they have to improve their team in several areas, they're going to have to part with at least one high-priced asset. Every blown scoring chance and neutral-zone giveaway makes Lucic the player most likely to hit the road.
When the Bruins signed Lucic to a three-year extension in 2012, they probably envisioned him playing up to par or even out-producing projections by the end of the deal and making it difficult to re-sign him. Instead he's made it tough on Boston by not meeting expectations.
There's still time for Lucic to change perceptions of his play in the present and projections for his future performance and earnings. Lucic can take this Krejci absence and the Bruins' overall struggles as a chance to once and for all prove he's an elite player, a game-changing force and a leader when his team needs him the most.
Otherwise, he'll probably be doubly disappointed because the Bruins' season will end early and his exit might occur not long after.
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.