On the heels of a lackluster loss to Nashville on Tuesday, the Bruins were again struggling to find their game in the early going against the last-place Blue Jackets. And with special teams taking over much of the first period, Jakub Lauko, who is not a regular on the power play or penalty kill, was looking for a way to get himself and his team into the fight - literally.
As such, Lauko saw an opportunity to drop the gloves with Blue Jackets blue liner and Massachusetts native Billy Sweezey as the duo traded blows in a spirited bout early in the second period. Moments later, the Bruins tied the game on Tyler Bertuzzi's net-front power-play marker to make it, 1-1.
"I hadn't played much in the first period because we had a lot of PK and PP," said Lauko. "The start of the second period I just felt like we were kind of flat. It was a great opportunity, great moment, get the guys going, get the crowd going. I think they scored there right after, so I think it paid off. I'm happy that we won."
While the fight certainly helped Boston gain some juice, Lauko is always aiming to create that momentum each time he hits the ice with his skating and forechecking.
"Bring energy and be energetic and just bring the juice to the game," he said. "It's just all the things I'm doing like harder on the forecheck. I try to hit people and I will fight when it's necessary. That's what I do and that's what I need to keep doing."
Lauko, Boston's 2018 third-round pick, added that after last season he began to embrace the fact that this kind of role - as opposed to the scoring and skill role he was used to - could lead to opportunity at the NHL level.
"I had a couple talks with my dad, my agent and I just needed to like figure it out in my head," said Lauko. "What would I want to do? What do I expect from myself? I just like figured out my upside is not like Pasta's upside or [Brad Marchand's] upside, so I was like, 'If I want to be playing here, if I want to keep playing here, I just need to change the way I'm playing a little bit and do what I do the best.'
"That's like bringing the energy skating, be hard, and be responsible on the ice. I just kind of figure it out by myself a little bit and I'm happy it's paying off."
The 23-year-old Czech native is also aware of the situation around him. With the injured Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno back on the ice and aiming for returns in the postseason, Lauko is using this period as a regular in the lineup to show that he can be counted on if needed at the most important time of the year.
"I know how the lineup is looking here," said Lauko. "When Hallsy and Fliggy going to be back, it's going to be hard to crack the lineup. These games I'm taking to show everyone that if something happens or if coach is going to make a different decision, I'm ready and they can rely on me. I can be the player for playoffs. I can be a Boston Bruin for the playoffs."