Jim Montgomery was both ‘surprised and disappointed’ with Bruins’ showing against Rangers
"They've had our number — we haven't beaten these guys."
The Stanley Cup Playoffs don’t begin for at least another month.
But the Bruins will have no shortage of litmus tests placed in front of them to test their postseason mettle down the stretch.
Starting with Thursday’s home contest against the Rangers, eight of Boston’s final 12 games on the regular-season docket are against playoff teams — including two battles against both the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers.
Thursday’s meeting between the Bruins and Blueshirts stood as a clash between the two top teams in both the Atlantic and Metro Divisions — handing Jim Montgomery and his team a much-needed measuring-stick matchup.
Given said circumstances, it wasn’t much of a surprise that Boston’s bench boss kept his answers short as to why the Bruins failed to make much of a dent against a potential Cup contender — especially on home ice.
“Yes,” Montgomery said when asked if he was surprised with Boston’s lack of pushback in a 5-2 loss to New York. “Surprised and disappointed.”
Boston’s 2023-24 campaign has been plagued at times by deflating setbacks, especially when it comes to protecting third-period leads and capitalizing on three-on-three overtime sequences.
But Thursday’s loss might have been the most disheartening setback in weeks for Boston — given both the Bruins’ impressive track record against playoff opponents and the brand of hockey that left them befuddled in a potential playoff preview.
“We knew it was a big game,” Jake DeBrusk said postgame. “Obviously, they’ve had our number — we haven’t beaten these guys. So I don’t think the emotions were really a question coming in. I think it’s just a matter of just answering their push, which we didn’t do.”
Thursday marked Boston’s first regulation loss to a playoff opponent since Jan. 24 (3-2 to Carolina), with the Bruins’ uneven play since the All-Star break buoyed by the notion that this roster can elevate against top opponents on any given night.
And while costly miscues with the puck and a shaky showing from Jeremy Swayman (26 saves on 29 shots) will not look pretty during film review, Boston’s inability to get to inside ice against a hefty Rangers roster should stand as a serious cause for concern.
Even with a pair of tallies from DeBrusk and Justin Brazeau, the Bruins generated just four high-danger scoring chances over 50:29 of 5-on-5 ice time — with the Rangers generating 13 high-danger looks over that same stretch.
“We should not be tired,” Montgomery said when asked if fatigue played into Boston’s struggles with skating to inside ice. “And I don’t think it’s a reflection of their defense. We should be able to gain middle ice a lot, we just weren’t attacking it.”
The Bruins, like every other NHL team, feature several flaws. Two expected foundations of Boston’s success this season have subsided over an extended stretch.
The Bruins’ D-zone structure is allowing 11.29 high-danger scoring chances per 60 minutes at 5v5 play — which ranks 18th in the NHL. It’s an unsustainable strategy to keep asking your netminders to bail you out against multiple Grade-A chances, especially with Swayman relinquishing 12 goals in his last three games.
Boston still has four weeks to shore up some of its defense and get Swayman back on track.
But if the Bruins are either unable (or unwilling) to fight for Grade-A ice, that doesn’t bode well for when the task becomes even tougher during the postseason.
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