Lucic struggles to end stubborn drought
Oilers winger looks to reclaim confidence in the midst of a difficult scoring drought
Some guys stop counting VANCOUVER when they go a long stretch between goals — that’s the media’s job to keep track — but Milan Lucic knows and the number isn’t pretty.
“Yeah, one goal in half a season,” Lucic said. “I don’t think I’ve ever done that in 11 years (in the NHL).
“Seems like everything that could go wrong has gone wrong for me, personally and for the team.”
This is a guy who reads the media game notes at the morning skate, which makes him a rarity, but he likes to keep up with who’s doing what. He knows who’s got a milestone coming. He knows who’s scored in, say, five straight games (Connor McDavid) or how many points a player’s had since, say, Feb. 1 (Leon Draisaitl, 28 in 29 games).
He didn’t know he’s had 75 shots on net and only one goal in 42 games, but that’s a scribe’s work.
“And that doesn’t include posts and missing nets and that kind of stuff,” said Lucic, who has 10 goals on the season and hasn’t scored in 12 games.
Every goalie has looked like a combination of Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur and Glenn Hall against Lucic for months. In Vancouver Thursday, he was around the net with his linemates, Ryan Strome and Jesse Puljujarvi.
There’s been reams written about Lucic’s foot speed and how he has to get quicker and lighter with his training and nutrition this summer to compete in what has become a young man’s game.
There has also been plenty written about how he seems so uncomfortable with the puck on his stick, with pucks bouncing off his blade or passes that aren’t productive — the measure of a guy who has suddenly found the game very difficult.
And this is his 11th NHL season, as he says.
Against the Canucks Thursday, he could have — make that should have — scored early in the game.
“First shift, you get a great chance and the puck hits the knob of the goalie’s stick,” said Lucic, who raced to the edge of the crease and got lots on the shot, only to have Jacob Markstrom stone him.
How many times in a game is Lucic thinking: OK, I can’t score, so I better do something else?
“Lots. Especially with my first chance on the first shift.” Lucic said with a laugh. “Part of this is the mindset. If you keep telling yourself you can’t score, more than likely you won’t score. You hope for a bounce so your mindset becomes, ‘I’m going to score’ vs. ‘I can’t score.’
“I’m going over video and I’m seeing chances. It’s almost like I’m so anxious to score that I’m missing the puck because I’m too excited. That’s a part of the mindset. You put so much pressure on yourself to score. You have to find a way to relax. Look at Connor, he’s as relaxed as anyone right now. Don’t get me wrong, he’s scored a lot of highlight reel goals but he’s also had goals because he’s confident and calm and he shoots it and it finds a way in.
“I’m trying to find the mindset that I had in the past. Looking at my shooting percentage of my first season and the ones after that and it’s been pretty consistent regardless of the minutes I’ve played,” said Lucic, who has a career 13.8 per cent shooting percentage, until this season from hell. “I think it’s under seven per cent now (6.9).”
Lucic watches video but he has done some visualization of scoring, as well.
“I’m kind of into that, but in practice I’m trying to shoot it hard, too, even if it’s an empty net. Making sure you hit the net and score. Yeah, it’s frustrating and maybe after the season I should talk to Anze Kopitar and see what he did over last summer,” said Lucic, referring to the Kings captain who scored 12 goals in 2016-17 and has nearly three times (34) that many this season.
“You see a former teammate struggle and he comes back with a career year,” Lucic said. “I’m definitely not throwing in the towel on myself. I think pretty highly of myself and my game and what I can bring.
“It’s finding that little extra to get back to who I am.”
If you keep telling yourself you can’t score, more than likely you won’t score. You hope for a bounce so your mindset becomes, ‘I’m going to score’ vs. ‘I can’t score.’