NHL Rumors: Is the Heat on Boston Bruins Head Coach Jim Montgomery?

Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman on The FAN Hockey Show on if the heat is on Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery. The Bruins won two games over the weekend, both shutouts, but things were looking a little off before that.

** NHLRumors.com transcription

Matt Marchese: “Put the heat on Jim Montgomery, because, you know, we, we all heard about, ‘Hey if Jim Montgomery doesn’t get past the Toronto Maple Leafs here’, or, sorry, the Bruins don’t Jim Montgomery wasn’t playing. But if they don’t get past the Bruins, you know, maybe he’s on his way out, and it looks like those calls are coming again.

But, you know, I was saying it to (Mike Futa), you watch that first goal, there’s four guys below the goal line on a delayed penalty. All they have to do is touch the puck. That’s not something the coach is teaching them. But, you know, you can’t fire 23 players.

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How much do you think the heat is ratcheted up here on the Bruins?”

Friedman: “Oh, it’s, it’s high like, you know, there’s, there’s no other answer to that question. The other thing too night is, I don’t think they had a five-on-five shot for 33 minutes.

Like I was watching, and, you know, I mean, we all saw that graphic, and I think it went viral to that the Hurricanes had six goals and the Bruins had six shots. And at that time, I don’t think any of those shots were five-on-five. And, that’s more than coaching.

You know, I said today to, like guys, like the guy who’s like, who’s really surprised me, because I think he’s a stud and I’m looking at him at the start of the season, I’m like, oh my goodness, like, is McAvoy. He’s, I think he’s a stud. I think he’s one of the best defensemen in the league. You know, I just watch him this year, he seems to just have lost his confidence, or his general great anticipation of what he’s doing out there. And it’s, I mean, obviously it’s bigger than just him, but like when you take a look at the struggles of the team and you look at the guy who really stands out to me, it’s just that he’s really struggled, too, in addition to everybody else.

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You know, but Matt, like, the heat’s on. Like, this is what happens. The Bruins have high expectations. They demand a lot of themselves, and they expect a lot of themselves. And, you know, I think, like, like, people aren’t stupid. You know, when the heat is coming and the heat’s arrived.”