When coach Jim Montgomery ripped into his Boston Bruins at a March 25 practice, no one knew how the players would respond.
The answer is clear now. Since that rant, Boston is 4-1 in five road games. And at 45-17-15 (105) as of Friday morning, the Bruins are four points clear of the Florida Panthers for first place in the Atlantic Division and are just one point behind the New York Rangers (51-21-4, 106) for the league’s best record.
Like they have done most of the season, the Bruins continue to play with passion. One noticeably big difference during this latest stretch is the consistency and focus on end-to-end responsibility they have shown. In other words, they’re putting the “whole package” out there on the ice and not relying too much on certain parts of their game to get by. Everything has been solid, from their typically strong goaltending to breakouts, offensive zone entries, positional defense and offensive creativity. In addition, there has been a toughness that was lacking earlier in the season.
This type of teamwork and effort is a coach’s dream, and it comes at a great time, with five games left before the playoffs. And all of this has happened despite Montgomery’s continued experimenting with line combinations and defensive pairings.
Another positive sign is that the four wins (4-3 over the Florida Panthers, 3-2 in a shootout over the Washington Capitals, 3-0 over the Nashville Predators, and 4-1 over the Carolina Hurricanes) came against some really tough customers.
Going into their games against Boston:
And the only blemish in the Bruins’ most recent five-game span was a 3-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, a team that had gone 20-8-2 in its last 30.
“You have to be able to win on the road,” captain Brad Marchand said postgame after the Bs beat the Hurricanes. “All these teams we’re playing right now are tough, and they’re playoff ready and playoff bound. It’s a great challenge every night. It’s the way you want to play. You want to play these tough games down the stretch, and getting prepared. It’s not going to get any easier.”
Can These Good Times Carry Into Playoffs?
The wins over Nashville on Tuesday and Carolina on Thursday are perhaps the Bruins’ most complete games of the season. There have only been a few occasions this season when Boston’s goaltending slipped below the “excellent” category, and this five-game run was not one of those times. Linus Ullmark made 31 saves in his shutout of the Predators, and Jeremy Swayman went 3-0.
Offensively, center Pavel Zacha has been on fire with two goals and six assists for eight points in the five games. Linemate David Pastrnak (3-4-7), per usual, was highly productive, and Danton Heinen (2-3-5) has proved more than capable of playing alongside them. On Friday, meanwhile, it was announced that Heinen is a nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, awarded to an NHL player who best exemplifies perseverance, dedication and sportsmanship.
Overall, 14 players hit the scoresheet in the recent run, including one assist each by goalies Swayman and Ullmark. A notable negative was zero points by the streaky Jake DeBrusk, who put up five goals and seven assists for 12 points in his previous 10 games. And two Bruins stars had memorable career moments:
Montgomery seems to have found a top defensive pairing in Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm. Interestingly, both are considered top-end two-way players. It’s not known if the coach will return McAvoy’s longtime defensive partner Matt Grzelcyk to his familiar spot.
Another D-man, Andrew Peeke, has been solid in his 10 games since coming over from the Columbus Blue Jackets at the trade deadline. And the rest of the blueliners have pulled their weight, leading Hurricanes TV commentator Tripp Tracy to say on air that Boston’s defense is “elite.”
Some big questions moving forward are: Can these good times slingshot the Bruins into the playoffs on a high note? Or will Boston follow up with letdowns? Is Montgomery planning to set his lines and defensive pairings or will they continue to change? And, most importantly, will the Bruins be playoff-ready when the postseason starts April 20?
The Bruins are at home for rematches against Florida on Saturday and Carolina on Tuesday.
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