Expectations were not high when Jim Montgomery took over as head coach for the Boston Bruins. The season began with uncertainty and injuries to star players, and Montgomery hadn’t taken the lead behind the bench since he was let go by the Dallas Stars after 31 games in the 2019-20 season.
For any expectations that did exist, Montgomery has blown them away. The Bruins are 32-5-4, boast a league-best goal differential, and their bench boss is the odds-on favourite to win the Jack Adams award for most outstanding coach.
On Friday, Montgomery spoke about the season so far and the keys to this run of success in an interview on Real Kyper and Bourne.
“We’re really deep – we have really good goalies, we got a deep back end and we got four lines that can push momentum in our favour,” said the Bruins’ coach. “You couple that with great leadership and a culture that I feel very fortunate to be a part of – it leads to a lot of success.”
Montgomery credits the veteran core for team’s roaring start and aiding his transition to life in Boston.
“There’s so many players that understand the ‘Bruin Culture’ and they want to be pushed, they want to learn new ways to better themselves individually and to better the team,” said Montgomery. “The trust level is so high that when everybody’s thinking about what’s best for the Boston Bruins, you’re going to end up making a decision that’s going to be best for the entire group – it’s not my decision, it’s a team first decision.”
Established stars like Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrňák – who (with 58 points in 41 games) is on pace for a career-best season statistically – have certainly been a large part of the Bruins’ success. Though the true difference between this season and last, where Boston finished 51-26-5 and had the seventh best record in the NHL, has been spurred by unanticipated sources.
Goaltender Linus Ullmark has made the jump to stardom, possessing a 0.938 save percentage and 1.88 goal against average – both league-leading by a large margin. The 28-year-old has never received a vote for the Vezina Trophy, but so far this season he is the betting favourite to win it.
Hampus Lindholm had shown flashes of greatness as a blueliner, but, in his first full season with the Bruins, often looks like the best player on the ice.
“Him coming to an original six team – being in a hockey-rabid city like Boston where the fans love you – has reenergized him,” said Montgomery about Lindholm, who was traded to the Bruins from the Anaheim Ducks last season. “[With the Ducks], people were like ‘okay, well, this guy’s a fine defenceman’, he’s not fine – he’s elite.”
Montgomery’s side hosts the second-place Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on Hockey Night in Canada in what will be an opportunity for the Bruins to increase their already sizeable Atlantic Division lead.