If there's one thing I've learned from ESPN: manufactured controversy is as good as the real thing. So I bring an unconventional idea to the table in advance of tomorrow's coup de grace.
Claude Julien should scratch Lucic for Game 4.
This isn't about teaching Looch a lesson, though that might be a nice side effect. If he's really as contrite as his sound bites suggest, he won't have a huge problem with the decision.
No, it's more about preparing this team for a long playoff run -- giving them the best chance to win, both immediately and in the future.
We saw last night that Montreal is simply no match for the Bruins, with or without Lucic. This series is being won by goaltending and blueline depth and scoring from the 4th line. The physical confrontations are nothing but a sideshow, and that was never more obvious than halfway through the game when all the scrums ceased as the Habs started to play with true desperation.
So why throw Montreal a bone? Keeping Lucic out of the lineup would put a damper on any attempts to rally around a fight or bodycheck, and by all indications the Bruins don't need him from a strategic point of view. If anything, Lucic's presence greatly increases the chance of something disasterous -- suspension, injury, perhaps an emotional rally by the home team.
A Cup contender can't afford to remain on an emotional roller coaster for weeks on end. Counting from 4/9, the regular-season game in which the first shots were really fired in this matchup, tomorrow will mark the 12th consecutive day in which the Lucic/Komisarek feud has been the subject of nonstop media coverage. Julien needs to control and channel his team's emotions, not stoke them just as things have started to cool down.
Last season, Julien raised eyebrows with his decision to bench Phil Kessel in the playoffs. As we would discover in the second half of the series, it was an eye-opening moment for a dynamic young player who had probably never heard the word "no" from a coach. Kessel exploded when he returned to the lineup, and has been a better player ever since.
Maybe it's time for Lucic to have a similar experience. His presence in Game 4 would likely be a detriment to the team, and that's not acceptable for a professional player. He needs to sit, watch his team win without him in a cool and collected manner, and come back with laser-focus against the next opponent.
