Lucic rediscovers his calling the hard way

Bruin Milan Lucic wants a piece of Ryan Whitney, but all he got was two minutes for slashing. (Justine Hunt/Globe Staff)

The Milan Lucic many have identified with - aggressive, hard-charging, shoulder to the wheel - had lost his identity over the last week.

It took a demotion to the third line by coach Claude Julien for the Bruins left winger to find it again, but it paid off in one of the more crucial moments of last night's 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at TD Banknorth Garden.

Twelve minutes into the second period, Dennis Wideman intercepted an Evgeni Malkin pass in the middle of the Bruins' defensive zone and dished it to Chuck Kobasew off the boards, starting a breakout on the left wing. With a three-on-two, Kobasew sent a cross-ice pass into the low slot, but the puck deflected backward off Stephane Yelle. Lucic picked up the puck and wristed it past goaltender Dany Sabourin to give the Bruins a 3-1 lead.

"It's a little frustrating when you're not getting shots," said Lucic, who scored his 11th goal of the season. "That one was just . . . you got to get back to going to the net, and I guess the puck will find you."

In one sense, it was back to the Lucic fans had grown accustomed to. Prior to Tuesday's 5-2 win at Pittsburgh, Julien moved Lucic from the finesse-minded first line with Marc Savard and Phil Kessel to the more aggressive third line with Yelle and Kobasew.

Just the response Julien was looking for? He called the switch a need for "a response from lines," citing complacency from Savard, Kessel, and P.J. Axelsson.

"With Looch, with that hard-working line, [it] certainly helped him find his identity again, as far as being a grinder. Being a grinder doesn't stop you from scoring, as we saw tonight."

"I think certain things weren't going my way," Lucic said. "I wanted to get back to doing a couple things. It paid off today with the goal, but we've got to keep getting better."

Not to be overlooked was Yelle's positioning on the play. Yelle, who had an assist on Lucic's goal and assisted on Savard's empty-netter with three seconds left, turned in one of his strongest performances of the season.

"The big key there, I thought, was the fact that Yelle drove to the net," Julien said. "What he did there was create confusion with the D, and then Looch came in to get that loose puck. There's a lot of good things that happened there, but I think a lot of the credit goes to Stephane Yelle for driving the net there."

The line shake-up was meant to freshen an offense Julien thought was beginning to get stale. Lucic hadn't registered a shot in the two games preceding the home-and-home series against the Penguins. However, he did have an eight-game points streak that included the winning goal Dec. 23 against New Jersey before going into a three-game funk.

There were no major adjustments needed. Lucic was comfortable playing alongside Kessel and Savard, but playing alongside Yelle and Kobasew - arguably two of the team's grittiest players - helped him rediscover that rugged element of his game.

But this rediscovery of sorts didn't come without its thorns. Lucic was called for slashing at 17:37 of the second period. Looking agitated after Ryan Whitney cross-checked him without getting penalized, Lucic slashed the Penguins defenseman after the whistle, leading to a confrontation.

Did emotions get the better of him?

"I didn't like the play," Lucic said. "Actions were made. Don't look too far into it."