By: Ryan Duffy | Follow Me On Twitter @Rduffy26
The Bruins are currently 3-0-1 amid their five-game homestead, with the final game upcoming tonight versus the Winnipeg Jets. On top of the Bruins earning seven out of a possible eight points during the homestead, Boston holds the best record in the NHL (25-4-2) and a 17-0-2 record on home ice. Despite their recent success on the scoreboard, head coach Jim Montgomery has expressed some concern about how the team hasn’t played their best hockey as of late.
“I don’t think we’re playing very good hockey.” Montgomery said to the media following their victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday. “We’re not. I don’t think we’re checking well enough. I don’t think we’re playing fast enough, with or without the puck. It’s leading to us spending more time in our own end.”
Boston’s latest matchup was a perfect example of why Jim Montgomery has expressed his displeasure with how they’ve recently played. On Monday night, the Bruins hosted the Florida Panthers in a high-scoring affair. Boston scored four unanswered to take a 4-0 lead early in the second period, but their heavy lead vanished quickly after the Panthers roared back with three tallies to pull within a goal.
Throughout the game, Boston displayed indecisiveness with the puck and made numerous defensive errors, leading to goals in the back of their net. Despite coming out with two points in the game, the Bruins were uncharacteristically outshot 39-26 and showed bad habits in their play. In the four games Boston has played on home ice, they have yet to look nearly as sharp as they did through the first fourth of games this season.
“It’s been leading to us getting on the wrong side of pucks, so we’re taking a lot of stick infractions, especially in the offensive zone, where our forwards have been very good all year at being over the top of people.” Montgomery said. “We’re not there right now, and that’s leading to us leaking oil a little bit in how we want to play.”
With two games remaining before the NHL embarks on their three-day break for the holidays, Boston will be tweaking their gameplan with the Winnipeg Jets visiting the TD Garden and a day later when the Bruins head to New Jersey to face the Devils. Both the Jets and Devils sit in second place within their respective divisions while also playing some of their best hockey in recent years.
The Devils, in particular, have come out of nowhere as a playoff contender in the Eastern Conference. Despite losing six of their last seven games, the team has found success by driving offense through their youthful speed and skill. If Boston continues to show the deficiencies Montgomery has expressed in his media conferences, a team like the Devils is bound to capitalize on defensive errors. Led by the former first-overall pick in the 2019 draft, Jack Hughes, the Devils will be a test of whether Boston can keep up with a high-flying offense like New Jersey.
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