Boston Bruins Are Having Such A Good Year That They're Talking About 'Adversity' After Dropping Two Games In A Row For The First Time
The Boston Bruins are the unquestioned Stanley Cup favorites going into the All-Star break.
Just how good has it been? After losing two games in a row, their coach started talking about facing adversity.
Two. Games.
This isn't the NFL or college football. This is dropping a couple of games out of 82 and sinking their record to a "paltry" 38-7-5.
“We’re facing a little adversity right now,” head coach Jim Montgomery told NESN after losing to the Florida Panthers in overtime Saturday night. “It’s the first time all year that we haven’t prevailed in two games in a row so we’re gonna have to look at what we’re doing wrong and ways to get better.”
Some coaches would kill for that to be their first taste of adversity in a season. Ask the Vancouver Canucks, about adversity and they might have a thing or two to say about dropping a pair of games.
The organization did face some adversity in the form of the Mitchell Miller debacle. However, that was a poorly-handled headache for the front office to deal with. It shouldn't have made it down to the locker room aside from a few questions from reporters.
The Bruins didn't lose the first of those two games to a basement dweller either. It was to the Tampa Bay Lightning, an Atlantic Division rival that has been to three straight Cup finals.
Yeah, I think the Bs are going to be just fine.
Jim Montgomery's first season as the Bruins head coach has been successful, he's talking about facing adversity after dropping to straight for the first time this season... it's late January, by the way. (Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Look Out For The Bruins (On The Off Chance You Weren't Already)
What it does go to show is that expectations are sky-high and the Montogmery is ready to pick apart his team to make sure every facet of their game is clicking.
“It’s the third period,” he said. “The other teams pushed hard and I didn’t think we matched that intensity of the pushback. I think our power play’s gotten outworked the last two nights and I think that has led to very little zone time.”
The Bruins could post one of the best regular seasons in NHL history. With 32 games left on their schedule, the Bruins have a shot at matching or even besting the league's record for regular season wins.
That stands at 62 wins, a record that's shared by the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning.
Montgomery's words didn't light a fire under the Bruins as they dropped a third straight on Sunday, this time to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Still, it's far from time to panic in Boston.
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