Why Jim Montgomery Changed Bruins Lines During Game 5 Loss

Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery did some mixing and matching Wednesday night at TD Garden.

With Patrice Bergeron back in the mix for Game 5 of Boston’s first-round Stanley Cup playoff series with Florida, Montgomery deployed a new-look first line that had Tyler Bertuzzi and David Pastrnak flanking the Bruins captain. Boston’s bench boss eventually reunited the “Perfection Line” of Brad Marchand, Bergeron and Pastrnak and later moved Jake DeBrusk up to the slot he predominantly occupied during the regular season. Montgomery also experimented with a new third line of Taylor Hall, Charlie Coyle and Garnet Hathaway.

The shufflings were made in a losing effort, as the Bruins gave the Panthers new life with a 4-3 overtime loss. After the game, Montgomery explained the thought process behind his line changes.

“Well, I don’t know if changing the lines had anything to do with what we just — I don’t know why we didn’t have energy in the first period, but we just didn’t,” Montgomery told reporters, per a team-provided transcript. “We didn’t get to our game but, changing the lines, I changed the lines halfway through the first and then I changed the lines to start the second, and I just thought Charlie Coyle, Hathaway and Hall just did a really good job getting everyone going north and playing Bruins hockey.”

Time will tell how Montgomery aligns his skaters for Friday night’s tilt at FLA Live Arena. After a Thursday off day, the Bruins and the Panthers will meet for a pivotal Game 6 in the Sunshine State.

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