Lucic

WILMINGTON, Mass. — Although he’s feeling healthy enough to maybe return to the Boston Bruins’ line-up soon, winger Milan Lucic needs the entire four-day All-Star break to continue his recovery from an upper-body injury that’s forced him to miss the last six games.

So he won’t be squaring off with rookie teammate Blake Wheeler as a member of the sophomore squad at Saturday night’s YoungStars Game at All-Star weekend in Montreal.

“It’s just being safe and whatnot,” Lucic said after going through a full practice with the Bruins this morning at Ristuccia Arena. “Obviously it would’ve been great to be a part of it once again, especially with the 100-year anniversary of the Canadiens. It sucks that I have to miss it. But I got to experience the young guns game last year and now Wheeler can have fun at that game this year.” (more…)

Lucic

BOSTON — Boston Bruins winger Milan Lucic did not take the warm-up with his teammates at TD Banknorth Garden 20 minutes before puck drop for the  game between the Bruins and Montreal.

In Lucic’s place during line drills, Martin St. Pierre, a call-up from Providence (AHL), skated on left wing alongside Marc Savard and Chuck Kobasew, who shifted back to his natural right wing position.

Lucic will now have missed three games with an undisclosed injury.

Lucic

BOSTON — Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien said that the club will decide today if winger Milan Lucic can return to the line-up for tonight’s game with the Montreal Canadiens.

Lucic, out the last two games with an undisclosed injury, skated before the team and then joined the full squad for its morning skate. He mixed in on Marc Savard’s line along with right winger Chuck Kobasew.

“Those decisions will be made today – his availability tonight as well as others,” said Julien.

The head coach also clarified some things on his other injured players. Goaltender Manny Fernandez, who skated before the team today, is battling “general soreness.” And winger Phil Kessel, placed on injured reserve yesterday with mono, is out indefinitely.

“With mono, it’s one of those situations where it’s pretty clear there’s no way he can play and we’ve got to wait for the doctors to clear him. So that’s the extent of it,” the coach said.

Lucic

BOSTON — Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien today had a brief update on both injured winger Milan Lucic and defenseman Andrew Ference, neither of whom practiced with the team today at TD Banknorth Garden.

Lucic, who missed last night’s game with  Ottawa and didn’t practice Wednesday either,  is out with an undisclosed injury. Julien said he’s improving and remains day-to-day.

Ference, out since Nov. 13 with a broken foot,  was once ahead of schedule. He’d joined the team for practices and morning skates last week but he left the ice early Jan. 5 and hasn’t skated since.

“He’s pretty close,” Julien said. “We had to pull him back a little bit here. So we’re back to the original  schedule.”

Initial doctors’ forecasts had Ference not returning until next week or the week after.

Lucic

BOSTON — Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien made it official this morning that winger Milan Lucic will not play tonight against Ottawa at TD Banknorth Garden due to an undisclosed injury.

Lucic, who did not practice yesterday, will miss his first game of this regular season.

If the lines stay the same from yesterday’s Lucic-less practice, Shawn Thornton will move up into Lucic’s spot in the line-up alongside Stephane Yelle and Chuck Kobasew. That line played together for five games in mid-November when Kobasew was working his way back from injury. (more…)

Lucic

BOSTON — Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien has stressed time and again that the line switches he made prior to Tuesday night’s game were not to single any one player out but to shake up all six skaters.

But a glance at the stats sheet easily revealed that the one third of the Bruins top line that wasn’t producing was left winger Milan Lucic. Lucic failed to fire a shot on net in Carolina and Atlanta, and including his switch to the line centered by Stephane Yelle and completed by Chuck Kobasew Tuesday, he entered tonight’s game with just one goal  in his last eight.

In a 4-2 win over Pittsburgh at TD Banknorth Garden tonight — the Bruins’ 10th straight win — Lucic potted the game-winner by burying a  loose puck that bounced off Yelle a little past the midway point of the second period. The goal was a result of that trio doing  what it does best, and that’s using its strength and grit. (more…)

Lucic

The Montreal Canadiens were more than excited to have veteran defenseman Mike Komisarek back in the line-up last night, as Pat Hickey of the Montreal  Gazette reports after the Habs’ 5-2 win over Philadelphia. Komisarek, you’ll remember, was injured in the fight with Lucic back on Nov. 13.

Just in time for Komisarek’s return, however, Lucic knocked Toronto defenseman Mike Van Ryn out of last night’s game with a potential concussion, as Tim Wharnsby of the Globe and Mail reports. Van Ryn was playing his third game after returning from a previous concussion. Of course, this was the second time Lucic victimized Van Ryn, who Lucic checked through the glass earlier this season.