Bruins Coach Montgomery Searches for Right Combination Up Front

The Bruins were unable to find its offensive rhythm, Tuesday night in the Music City. 

Boston was shutout by the Nashville Predators, 4-0, ending a bumpy three-game trek at 1-1-1.  The Western swing included a 5-3 win in Colorado on Wednesday, and a frustrating 2-1 loss to Utah in sudden death overtime on Saturday. 

Although Tuesday’s game was a better effort in terms of pure looks, the Bruins inability to finish continues to loom large. 

“Our work ethic was really good today, but part of the process is being disciplined,” said Bruins coach Jim Montgomery. “Not taking as many penalties as we did. Part of the process is sticking with it. I thought we had a great first seven minutes of the second period. We were wearing out the goal line and the back of the net. We got away from that.’ 

Montgomery’s emotions were on full display during the roadtrip. Against Utah, he barked at team captain Brad Marchand following an turnover that almost led to a goal. The Utah tally was waived off after being ruled offsides, but the outburst only seemed to mirror the team’s frustration. 

On Tuesday, Montgomery continued to tinker, shuffling his top three lines in a quest to find the right combination. 

“We created enough to score, but we didn’t have enough to finish,” said Montgomery. “And I don’t think we were very clean with our passing tonight.” 

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Marchand was bumped up to the top line with Elias Lindholm and David Pastrnak. The Bruins current leading scorer, Elias Lindholm showed some early season flair with Pasta and Pavel Zacha. Adding Marchand into the mix was a great way to get the captain back in step – albeit in an all-eggs-in-one-basket solution. 

Marchand was aggressive and engaged, providing Boston’s best scoring opportunity in the first period. He continued to battle in the corners, taking a heavy hit from Nashville’s Alexandre Carrier in the second period. Pastrnak provided the Bruins best scoring chance in the second period. But the all-star right winger was stymied by goalie Juuse Saros on a partial breakaway. The line buzzed the Nashville goal in the third period but to no avail. 

Charlie Coyle centered the second line flanked by Trent Frederic and Max Jones. Coyle has been snakebit for much of this season. Jones fell into some trouble with a pair of first period penalties. The second penalty, a tripping call on Carrier, led to Nashville’s go-ahead goal by Ryan O’Reilly. 

A healthy scratch in Utah, Jones was playing in just his third game of the season, after suffering an injury during training camp. Projected to be a staple on the fourth line, the 6-foot-3, 216-pound winger’s injury coupled by the emergence of Cole Kopeke has left him as the odd man out. 

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Frederic delivered a team-high three hits among forwards entering the second intermission. 

Matt Poitras worked the middle of the checking line with Pavel Zacha and Morgan Geekie. This line appeared like more of a pseudo second line. Poitras has shown an offensive spark in each of the team’s first six games. Zacha previously worked with Pastrnak and Elias Lindholm. Geekie is also struggling to find his game, after posting career-best numbers last season.  

Meanwhile, the fourth line of Johnny Beecher, Mark Kastelic and Koepke remained intact and highly impactful.  Heading into the game, the trio combined for a remarkable seven goals, 16 points and +17 rating. Kastelic set the tone in Nashville, beating defenseman Luke Schenn in a lopsided first period fight. 

On the bench, Montgomery has a pair of giants in 6-foot-6, 227-pound right winger Justin Brazeau and 6-foot-6, 230-pound left winger Riley Tufte. Both have been shuttled in and out of the lineup thorough the season, as the team continues to search for a spark.

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NHL veteran Tyler Johnson also remains in town after agreeing to a PTO opportunity at training camp. The two-time Stanley Cup champion could be an insurance policy in the event of an injury or unforeseen circumstance. Danton Heinen provided a similar role with the club last season.

In the meantime, the line juggling should only continue.

“I’m trying to generate some chemistry,” said Montgomery, before the game. “It’s been inconsistent in our first six games, so we’re just looking at different ways to support certain players. Get other players on their toes, and just hopeful these line combinations will create some more offense and some more success for us.”  

After coughing up 22 giveaways to Utah on Saturday, its clear Montgomery wants his team to focus on the overall process. 

“The last couple of years we’ve gotten off to great starts and we played fast,” said Montgomery, over the weekend. “I don’t like the pace we’re currently playing with. Being 3-2-1 at the start of the year, look around the league, that’s fine. The record I’m not worried about. The results I’m not worried about right now. It’s the process. And the process is not consistently to our desires right now.” 

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