Jakub Lauko is seeing his hard work pay off
Over the last few weeks, the Bruins offense has bulldozed anyone in their way. While Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak have been points machines, Jakub Lauko has played his best hockey of the season. As a result, he has been hard to keep out of the lineup.
In Boston's last three games, Lauko has added three points to his resume, including two goals. Before that stretch, the former third-round pick had three points in his first 31 games. After a slow start, he is looking more comfortable with every game.
Additionally, Lauko's impact goes beyond the scoresheet. He has shown a knack for drawing penalties, allowing the Bruins to put pressure on other teams with their power play unit. The 23-year-old has not been afraid of sacrificing his body during his three-game point streak, landing 12 hits in that span.
Due to his success, Jim Montgomery has rewarded Lauko's play with a promotion to the third line. That has been big for a player in Lauko who was snake-bitten to begin the year in terms of points. Whether he is putting points on the board or not, good things happen with Lauko on the ice.
Since he made his NHL debut on Oct.12, 2022, the Bruins are 44-8-5 with Lauko in the lineup. Their .772 winning percentage is the highest by a skater in NHL history (min. 50 GP), according to NHL Public Relations.
His impact has not gone unnoticed by Bruins' head coach, Jim Montgomery, who highlighted his young wingers' play on Monday night.
"I see someone that is winning more one-on-one battles consistently," Montgomery told reporters. "I see someone supporting pucks and just going — I don't see any hesitation in his game right now. So you see him getting on top of pucks that are chipped out — he's got it and he's putting it in areas or carrying and hanging on to it. So I just see a more confident hockey player."
For the moment, the Bruins have found a secret weapon in Lauko, who is showing just how valuable he is.
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He just gonna be getting better and better, keep him 👏☝️