Unexpected message from coach Jim Montgomery amid Bruins’ struggles

I am not sure the word sluggish can appropriately qualify the start of the 2024-25 season of the Boston Bruins. They are last in the Atlantic Division with a 4-6-1 record and have a minus-13 goal differential, and it’s been quite rough recently amid their 1-4-1 stretch.

After Thursday’s 8-2 loss against the Carolina Hurricanes, head coach Jim Montgomery faced reporters and everyone assumed he was going to rip into his players. Instead, he had an unexpected message for his team and the doubters:

“We had a lot of success the last two years,” Montgomery said. “We were first place in the league at Thanksgiving the last two years. We never achieved anything we wanted to. Right now, we’re not happy. Nobody’s happy with what’s going on, but we will get out of it, and we will be better, and, hopefully, it creates a better result come playoff time.”

When the Bruins made the postseason last spring, they had been 8-0-1 on Oct. 31 2023 and had a plus-15 goal differential. They went on to finish second in the Atlantic, but lost in the second round against the Florida Panthers.

The focus needs to be on getting out of this funk and maybe the past seasons have taught the Bruins that the only way from here is up and that’s surely what Montgomery and his players are hoping for.

They can start on Saturday afternoon when Boston visits the Flyers in Philadelphia and get back on track before it’s too late.