Boston Bruins: Is Jim Montgomery on the Hot Seat?

by Eric Burton | Nov 2, 2024

Boston Bruins: Is Jim Montgomery on the Hot Seat?

by Eric Burton | Nov 2, 2024

The Boston Bruins ended the month of October on a sour note. They lost three out of four games and were outscored by a combined score of 18-6. The final week of October was brutal. The Philadelphia Flyers shut them out 2-0, and the Carolina Hurricanes ran them out of the Lenovo Center by a score of 8-2. In the later minutes of the first period, the Hurricanes scored three goals in less than a minute. The only positive was that I saw former UND forward Jackson Blake scoring the third goal of his young professional hockey career. There was no silver lining for Bruins fans and nothing to build on. There was nothing positive about an 8-2 thrashing. The goal was initially credited to Dmitry Orlov, but later, Blake was credited with the goal. It didn’t matter who had scored; the Bruins looked listless and disinterested in defending their goal.

Carolina goal!

Scored by Dmitry Orlov with 02:08 remaining in the 1st period.

Assisted by Jackson Blake.

Carolina: 3
Boston: 1#BOSvsCAR #RaiseUp #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/Dm5DkQsf9t

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 31, 2024

After the second period, I thought about turning the channel, but I didn’t; I kept watching to see if the Bruins could turn it around. Watching them, you could tell they had checked out. X was ablaze after the Hurricanes’ 8-2 shellacking. Before today’s game between the Flyers and Bruins, this tweet was posted on X. Montgomery’s seat might be getting hotter, but I imagine Bruins management will give him a chance to turn it around or not.

Is Jim Montgomery’s seat heating up in Boston? #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/ubpSM10B6V

— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) November 2, 2024

Montgomery has a 117-38-21 (.724) winning percentage in his time with the Bruins. Winning isn’t a problem unless it’s in the playoffs. The Bruins only advanced once past the first round during the first two seasons. At some point, the onus has to be on the Bruins players.

According to the Athletic, prior to Saturday’s win, scoring 5-on-5 was the problem. Through 11 games, the Bruins have scored only 16 five-on-five goals. David Pastrnak has just one. Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle, Pavel Zacha, and Morgan Geekie, all of whom started the season in the top six, have zero.

With today’s 3-0 shutout victory against the Flyers, the Bruins are tied with the Columbus Blue Jackets for the final playoff spot. The Jackets have two games in hand on the Bruins. Moreover, many games are left until we can talk about the playoffs. It will be a long season if the Bruins don’t start winning some hockey games, especially if they keep up the current pace. Today’s win stops the bleeding, but Montgomery probably isn’t out of the woods yet. The best way for Montgomery to save his job is for the Bruins to go on a winning streak. Reading the tea leaves, you have to wonder if time is running out for the former Maine Black Bear.