The Boston Bruins have hung around the top of the Eastern Conference for nearly the entire 2023-24 campaign, but Jim Montgomery's club has struggled in recent weeks.
A team that was 32-10-9 after a convincing win over the Vancouver Canucks on February 8 is now 42-17-15 with just eight games left in the regular-season.
It was almost exactly a year ago that the 2022-23 Bruins were capturing the President's Trophy, while re-writing history and producing one of the greatest years of all time.
That squad had nothing but answers in the regular-season, and nothing but questions after a stunning seven-game loss to the Florida Panthers in Round 1.
In March of 2024 — with Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci no longer around to be leaned on down the stretch — Montgomery is concerned about the postseason.
“I don’t think our team’s ready for the playoffs,” the bench boss said earlier this week, according to The Fourth Period's Shawn Hutcheon.
He also revealed what it will take for his roster — which is still very similar to the one that won a ridiculous 65 games in 82 tries last year — to reach its full potential.
“What needs to change is more accountability and our team valuing playing the right way always,” Montgomery explained, per Hutcheon. “Consistently know who we are, individually, to help the Bruins have success as a team and who’s going to be able to raise their level of play as we play desperate teams, Who’s all in? Who’s going to make plays? Who wants the puck? Who wants to be a difference-maker for us offensively and defensively? Everybody's gotta take ownership.”
Bruins struggling at an unideal time
It goes without saying that this is the worst time all season for the team to be playing maybe its most uninspired hockey.
But despite the cold spell, the Bruins are still locked into one of the top-two berths in the Atlantic Division. And maybe less pressure will benefit Boston in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The expectations could not have been higher in 2023, and they'll certainly be tempered this time around. That's especially true with the front office failing to make a significant splash ahead of the March 7 trade deadline.
For Montgomery, the key down the stretch is consistency.
“It’s been consistent throughout the year,” he said. “We have good stretches where we manage a game [then] we get away from it. You can’t get away from it. You just can’t give a game away in the playoffs because you don’t get to play the following week if you do it.”
Captain Brad Marchand, who won the Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2011 but lost in the 2013 and 2019 SCF, is well-versed to the grind of the postseason.
“What wins and loses in the playoffs, are the details. One mistake is enough to cost you a game. It’s not something you can turn on and off come playoff time. You need to be really detailed going down the stretch,” the Nova Scotian explained earlier this week, per Hutcheon.
“Your game has to be, not perfect, you’re never going to get there, but you need to strive for that every day. We need to be prepared in every minute of the game to take care of the puck and be on top of our structure and when we do that, we’re a great team. When we get away from that, we’re not.”
The Bruins are certainly not looking like a top team at the end of March, but things can change quickly. And with a potential first-round matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs looming, there won't be any passengers in Round 1.
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