Jim Montgomery Suggests Reason For Bruins’ Playoff Struggles In Boston

The Bruins were virtually unbeatable in the regular season and especially dominant on home ice, going 34-4-3 at TD Garden.

But since the start of the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, playing in their own building hasn’t been much of an advantage for the Presidents’ Trophy winners.

Boston owns a 3-2 lead over Florida in the teams’ first-round series, and both of the Panthers’ wins were notched on Causeway Street. The second of those triumphs was Wednesday night when the Bruins squandered an opportunity to punch a second-round ticket in front of their passionate fans. The B’s now will have to play another tilt at FLA Arena, where they won Games 3 and 4 of the best-of-seven set.

So, what gives? Why have the Bruins been better on the road than at home in Round 1? Head coach Jim Montgomery provided a possible explanation Thursday afternoon when he met with reporters.

“A lot of times at home — ’cause we love playing in front of our fans so much, we love the TD Garden — we want to make them happy right away,” Montgomery told the media, per a team-provided video. “Instead of building our team game, we try and get results right away. A lot of times when you’re forcing plays, the other team is forcing you into tough areas instead of just, maybe, moving it up the wall or putting it in on the forecheck. You try to go through the middle, tape-to-tape, and they go the other way.”

A silver lining here for the Bruins is they know, without a shadow of a doubt, that they can end the series Friday night in Florida. But if they don’t come out on top in Game 6, they will be tasked to try and buck this unexpected home-ice trend Sunday with all of the chips on the table.

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