By: Eamonn McLean | Follow me on Twitter/X @EamonnMcLean44
As the clock hit zero on November 18th at TD Garden, boos rained down from what remained of the disappointed crowd. The Bruins had just fallen 5-1 at the hands of the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets, for what was Boston’s third straight defeat. The loss left the B’s with a record of 8-9-3, with a points percentage of .475%. Things needed to change in Boston.
So, the Bruins fired Jim Montgomery and promoted Joe Sacco to the position of Interim Head Coach. Montgomery left a record of regular-season success, going 120-41-23, in his time in Boston. Many wondered how getting rid of a coach of Montgomery’s caliber would impact a Bruins team, that at the time was outside of the playoff picture.
Now, over a month later, the Bruins prepare to face the Blue Jackets for the first time since the loss that ultimately cost Montgomery his job. Facing a Columbus team that humiliated Boston in November on a back-to-back could be a useful measuring stick for a Bruins team that is 11-4-1 under Sacco.
The early days of Sacco’s tenure are a lot different than the beginning of his predecessors time in the Bay State. While like Sacco, Montgomery had to battle some early season injuries to key players, he was blessed with the gifts of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci down the middle, as well as a supporting cast that included the newly acquired Pavel Zacha, as well as Taylor Hall, Nick Foligno, and others. Expectations were high, and in the regular season the Bruins delivered, setting the National Hockey League all-time single season points record.
Sacco took over a Bruins team that was lacking confidence. Elias Lindholm, the Bruins marquee summer signing, struggled under Montgomery. In his first game under Sacco, Lindholm scored the game’s lone goal against the Utah Hockey Club, and has looked more and more like the player he was in Calgary & Vancouver.
He’s not the only Lindholm on the Bruins to experience some early adversity. Hampus Lindholm suffered a lower-body injury November 12th, against the St. Louis Blues that has kept him out of the lineup. Lindholm had been the best defenseman on a Bruins defensive corps that had been frequently conceding goals. Lindholm is expected to return to the ice relatively soon, and would help a Boston team that was been testing it’s organizational depth on defense in his absence.
When the Bruins were upset by the Florida Panthers in the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, much was made of the “lack of adversity” the team faced on the way to it’s record-breaking regular season. While the expectations both in Boston and league-wide are not as high as they were in 2023, the Bruins have faced far more difficult tests this season. Whether it’s early-season struggles for a variety of players, injuries, or a coaching change, if this Bruins team is able to secure a playoff spot, they will be well-tested come April.
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