Bench boss Jim Montgomery sounded both frustrated and at a loss for solving what ails his personnel on hand following the Bruins' fourth straight home loss.
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The good news, of which there is little these days for the slumping Bruins, is that the real season still doesn’t start for a couple of months.
Despite losing their fourth straight game on home ice Saturday — something they hadn’t done during a homestand in 14 years — the Bruins will not miss the playoffs. They’re indeed an ugly bunch right now (1-4-1 since the All Star break) but not so bad that they can fritter away the equity banked in the standings
across the first 40-plus games of the season.
However, just as the postseason is the real season, the reality of today is that the February 2024 iteration of the Black and Gold resembles the frayed, almost disoriented bunch that blew a tire in last year’s first round and careened into the ditch of playoff wreckage.
Coaches are paid primarily to teach and sort out personnel, to put players on hand in the best position to thrive. Of equal importance, they must provide solutions when problems arise. As he spoke following
Saturday’s 5-4 overtime loss to the Kings at TD Garden, bench boss Jim Montgomery sounded both frustrated and at a loss for solving what ails his personnel on hand.
“Our desperation has not, since the break,” mused Montgomery, “matched our opponents’ [desperation] consistently.”
“It’s not good enough right now,” added Montgomery, who stressed he is disappointed rather than frustrated. “Tonight, that’s a game we should win, in my opinion. The execution isn’t where it should be — I give the [Kings] credit, they never stopped competing. That’s what desperate teams do.”
Montgomery was especially tight under the collar regarding Pavel Zacha’s holding penalty with 3:35 to go in regulation. The veteran pivot, though not directly named by the coach, hauled down Mikey Anderson in the Bruins’ offensive zone.
“To me,” said Montgomery, “you can’t take an offensive-zone penalty . . . can’t do it . . . you’re protecting the lead. Now they score, right? And you [have to] be able to overcome. You’ve got to get a penalty kill there. That’s the way you come out [of a funk]. You come out of it together.”
Now with 11 overtime losses (second only to the Islanders’ 13), the Bruins frittered Game No. 55 away after moving to a 3-1 lead midway through the second period. Beyond Zacha’s big boo-boo, some very sloppy D-zone work allowed the Kings to chip back and eventually win when Brandt Clarke raced out of the penalty box and potted the winner with 26.9 seconds to go in overtime.
Upstairs, in the corner office, the 1-4-1 homestand has to have team president Cam Neely and general manager Don Sweeney further scrutinizing their roster depth. They should be making their list, checking it twice, and worrying aplenty.
They would be extremely challenged to make it out of Round 1 this spring. They look like they’d be the hammer to everyone else’s nail.
Jake DeBrusk has been a painful absentee on the scoresheet. He has posted 0-0–0 in his eight games since Jan. 22 while as a constant member of the top six.
Over at Fenway Park, DeBrusk’s kind of performance would have a 2-3 hitter shifted down to the 8-9 hole. He provided some consistent pop out of the Christmas break, but right now
looks like the most obvious trade candidate as the league’s March 8 swap deadline approaches. His July 1 unrestricted free agent status adds to the chance he could be moved.
The better days, which are inevitable when these funks hit, can’t come soon enough for the Bruins, who’ll have another tough challenge Monday with the Stars in for a matinee. Montgomery’s charges had a dramatic turnaround after the 0-2-2 skid that led to the Christmas break. Some hope there.
“I know we can do it in this group — it’s the same guys,” said Trent Frederic, thinking back to the kick start that came at the end of December. “I think it’s one of those, we [have to] snap out of it . . . hopefully we’re doing it now and not later.”
It appears only part of the answer will come from within the room. The rest of it will have to come from the corner office, the addition of a roster piece or two to right a slumping team and avoid an ugly repeat of last April.
