Milan Lucic is going to stay on the shelf a little longer than the Bruins expected, according to the latest update from B’s head coach Jim Montgomery.

“[Lucic] is not going as quick as we expected,” Montgomery said after Monday’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena ahead of a flight to Buffalo. “He’s maybe a week behind where we expected, but it’s not dramatic.”

• Montgomery’s downer of an update on Lucic comes about a week after the team saw Lucic (and Matt Grzelcyk) back on the practice sheet ahead of a head-to-head with the Islanders.

  Injured on a Derek Forbort shot off the ankle in an Oct. 21 win over the Kings, the last time we saw Lucic in a game jersey game during the pregame skate the next night against Anaheim, where a clearly hobbled Lucic tried to give it a go before he left the ice before the end of the warm-up and was a late scratch from the lineup.

  Less than a week later, Lucic was placed on the long-term injured reserve, and it’s been a waiting game since.

• While the Black and Gold’s original timeline for Lucic is a bit of an unknown, it’s worth noting that his LTIR placement suggested that Nov. 18 against the Canadiens would’ve been Lucic’s first available date when it came to a return to the B’s lineup. Montgomery’s comments Monday seem to indicate that that won’t be the case.

  It’s a considerable blow to that game’s ‘juice’, especially after the Canadiens put forth a relatively physical effort against the Bruins this past Saturday night, headlined by five hits from both Michael Pezzetta and Arber Xhekaj.

  (And who wouldn’t love to see Lucic back in a B’s sweater and against the Canadiens? Well, besides Mike Komisarek, anyway. It’s just one of those things that makes you feel like everything is in the right place.)

• 

  Oct 11, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Milan Lucic (17) during the second period against the Chicago Blackhawks at TD Garden. (Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports)

• Back in Boston on a one-year, $1 million contract, Lucic showed signs of turning back the clock in his season debut, and even got promoted up to Boston’s top line at various points.

  Overall, the 35-year-old recorded two assists, along with eight hits and two blocked shots, in four games prior to his exit from the B’s lineup. Lucic was also providing a valuable, space-clearing presence to a B’s fourth line featuring speedsters Johnny Beecher at center and Jakub Lauko at right wing. (Lauko made his own return to the Boston lineup this past Saturday in Montreal after taking a skate to the face in Chicago on Oct. 24.)

• 

  Oct 3, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Milan Lucic (17) and Washington Capitals goaltender Darcy Kuemper (35) during the first period at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)

• READ MORE

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• With Lucic still unavailable for the foreseeable future, the Bruins will likely continue to roll with a fourth-line that features Oskar Steen on the wing.

  The 25-year-old Steen appeared to score his first goal of the season in the third period of last Saturday’s overtime loss to the Canadiens, but a successful coach’s challenge from Marty St. Louis wiped the tally off the board. Still, it’s been a strong start to the year for the 5-foot-9 Steen, who has a plus-3 rating, 11 hits, and eight shots on goal in seven appearances for the Big B’s this season.

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