Lucic, who bumped up to the Pavel Zacha-David Pastrnak line against the Kings as a result of Jake DeBrusk’s benching for being late to a team meeting, introduced himself to the NHL in this building when it was still known as the Staples Center.
Back in 2007, then-19-year-old Lucic, playing in just his fourth game, posted the vaunted “Gordie Howe hat trick” of a goal, an assist, and a fight.
“I think that game kept me in the NHL,” Lucic said, noting that he was in the same boat then that rookie Matt Poitras is in now. Once he hits 10 games, he burns the first year of his entry level deal.
Though the goal and assist were both the first of Lucic’s career, he was most proud of his battle with Raitis Ivanans.
“Yeah, definitely. As a 19-year-old, taking on a legit heavyweight in Ivanans, that was a confidence builder for me just to show that I can hold my own against a guy like that,” said Lucic. “I think he was 240, 250 [pounds] at the time. So yeah, obviously it’s always been a special place for me because of that game and I’ve always enjoyed coming back here.”
Lucic, who comes back to the area during the summers and actually was out here when he agreed to rejoin the Bruins in July, still maintains connections he made during his one-year run with the Kings.
“There’s a lot of great guys that I got to play with here and it’s a great organization,” he said. “It’s a special place. It’s a fun place to play, so I always look forward to playing in LA.”
Lucic was also looking forward to playing with his new linemates.
“I’ve had chemistry with Pasta in the past and I’ve gotten some shifts with him so far throughout the three games and every time we got out there, I felt like we created something. So yeah, it’s just an opportunity for myself,” he said. “But all in all, I know we’re only four games in, but it’s definitely our biggest test of the season against one of the best teams in the league, and it’s a huge test to see where our game is really at.”
Lucic’s spot on the fourth line with Johnny Beecher and Jakub Lauko was taken by Patrick Brown, who made his Bruins debut.
A former Boston College standout, Brown has 138 games under his belt with 10 goals and 24 points.
It was unclear when the meeting DeBrusk was late for took place. The team flew to Los Angeles after Thursday’s win in San Jose and were off ice Friday.
Mitchell thrilled about debut
Defenseman Ian Mitchell also made his season debut for Boston, taking Kevin Shattenkirk’s spot on the third pairing with former King Derek Forbort.
“The guy’s played very aggressive, liked his skating, liked his puck management and someone that had a really good camp that we’re excited to see play,” said coach Jim Montgomery.
Mitchell, who has played in 82 career games across parts of three seasons with the Blackhawks, came to Boston as part of the Taylor Hall-Nick Foligno trade.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled, to get to put that jersey on, original six, all the history to get out there with the guys and I’ve been itching to get in, so very excited,” said Mitchell.
Matt Grzelcyk took over Shattenkirk’s spot on the second power-play unit, manning the point opposite Hampus Lindholm.
Kings’ feats
A milestone night for a couple of longtime Kings. Center Anze Kopitar set the franchise mark for games played at 1,297, and defenseman Drew Doughty hit career game No. 1,100. “Future Hall of Famers, great guys, great team guys, great players,” said Lucic. “There’s a reason why they’ve both helped lead their team to two Stanley Cups and they’re still going strong. It’s always fun to play against them, so congrats to them.” … Rafter check: The Kings have retired seven numbers: Rob Blake (4), Marcel Dionne (16), Dave Taylor (18), Luc Robitaille (20), Dustin Brown (23), Rogie Vachon (30), and Wayne Gretzky (99). Dionne and Vachon’s banners are in the franchise’s original classic gold and purple hues … Did you remember that Vachon, a Hall of Fame goalie, finished his career in Boston, winning 44 games in black and gold across the 1980-81 and 81-82 season?
Jim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com. Follow him @globejimmcbride.