Is Jim Montgomery shortening the bench hurting the Bruins? – Felger & Mazz
The Boston Bruins struggles with closing out late leads continued on Saturday night when they blew a 2-0 lead to the Vancouver Canucks on their way to a 3-2 overtime loss. Something that could be playing into the Bruins losing these late leads is the shortening of the bench by head coach Jim Montgomery, which is causing certain players to play too many minutes. On Monday Felger and Mazz, Jim Murray and Mazz discuss Montgomery’s decision to shorten the bench late in the loss to the Canucks.
Are the Bruins hurting themselves by shortening the bench late in games?Ā
Jim Murray: And it also turns out the coach might be part of the problem too. I saw this on Twitter from a guy that does a Bruins podcast called the Short Shift Podcast, and he tweeted, “Mason Lohrei did not play the final eight minutes. When he left the ice on his final shift the Bruins were up 2-0. They lost 3-2. The way the coach manages the bench is hurting the team. It’s not working. Stopped doing it”. And he also broke down with this little tweet that, Lohrei has been good for them. You want to keep him on the ice. And this has also been like our whole lives, like part of the Bruins problem, they hate playing young players. Like he shouldn’t have been taken off the ice and basically benched at that point. And they end up blowing that game. So it’s frustrating.
Mazz: You know you’re point on Lohrei, how do you expect him to get better if you won’t play him in the regular season in the final minutes? How do you expect him to get better? What you think that’s going to give him proper training for postseason and what have you? What happens when you start playing him in the playoffs He craps his pants and then you can’t play him in the playoffs. So you have to play him in the regular season. What you’re afraid to lose a regular season game with a young guy out there, but you’re okay losing it with veteran guys out there? That’s the stupidest thing ever.
Felger: It’s nice coaching by Claude Julien, I mean Jim Montgomery.
Listen to Felger and Mazz from 2-6 every Monday-Friday on 98.5 The Sports Hub, with hosts Mike Felger, Tony āMazzā Massarotti, and Jim Murray āBig Jimā. You can listen live in the Sports Hub App and subscribe to their podcasts here. Follow @FelgerAndMazz on Twitter to keep up with the show!
Do you remember these former Boston Bruins from recent seasons?
Over the years there have been the mainstays on the Boston Bruins roster. Guys like Patrice Bergeron, Tuukka Rask, and David Krejci played with the spoked-B on their chest until they retired, while others like Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy have donned only the black and gold. Then there are others like Zdeno Chara, Charlie Coyle, and Torey Krug who didn’t spend their entire careers with the Bruins but had (or have) been with the team for a while.
Jan 14, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara (33) reacts with center Patrice Bergeron (37) and left wing Brad Marchand (63) after scoring a goal during the second period against the Philadelphia Flyers at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
But do you remember the guys who barely played for the Bruins? The ones who made a brief stop in Boston before returning to Providence? The ones who just weren’t good enough to make it full-time in the NHL? Here’s a list of guys over the last few seasons that you may not remember as members of the Boston Bruins!
Peter Cehlarik
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – JANUARY 16: Peter Cehlarik #22 of the Boston Bruins skates against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center on January 16, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Flyers defeated the Bruins 4-3. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
I chose Peter Cehlarik to be on this list because he should be an easy one to remember. The former 3rd round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft played 40 games for the Boston Bruins between the 2016-17 season and the 2019-20 season. I always felt that Cehlarik was going to make it and stick at one point, but that was apparently never in the cards for the Slovakian winger who tallied 5 goals and 6 assists in his 40 NHL games. Cehlarik now spends his time playing professionally in Europe. He is currently a member of Leksands IF in Sweden.
Jack Ahcan
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – MARCH 10: Jack Ahcan #54 of the Boston Bruins skates against the Chicago Blackhawks during the first period at TD Garden on March 10, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Jack Ahcan made 9 appearances for the Bruins between the 2020-21 and 2021-22 season and tallied a goal in the process.Ā The undrafted free agent signed a deal with the Bruins in March of 2020. He spent a majority of his time with the Bruins organization in Providence and is now a member of the Colorado Avalanche organization.
Gemel Smith
Dec 8, 2018; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins center Gemel Smith (28) gets set for a face-off during the first period against the Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Gemel Smith was claimed by the Bruins off of waivers during the 2018-19 season and found his way into the lineup for 3 games during the season. However, he ended up spending a majority of his time in the organization with Providence before leaving in free agency to sign in Tampa Bay the next offseason.
Par Lindholm
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY – SEPTEMBER 16: Par Lindholm #26 of the Boston Bruins skates against the New Jersey Devils during preseason action at the Prudential Center on September 16, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
People forget that Hampus wasn’t the first Lindholm to play for the Bruins. Par Lindholm joined the Bruins in free agency in 2019 and played 41 games as a member of the Bruins between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 and tallied just 3 goals and 3 assists during that time. He is now in Sweden playing for Skelleftea AIK.
Jesper Froden
Mar 1, 2022; Anaheim, California, USA; Boston Bruins right wing Jesper Froden (38) controls the puck during the third period against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
I admittedly totally forgot about this guy. It wasn’t until I started going through old rosters that I remembered he played for the Bruins. Jesper Froden only appeared in 7 games for the Bruins during the 2021-22 season and had just 1 goal to show for it. He ultimately left the team after one season to join the Seattle Kraken. After two seasons in North America and only 21 NHL games, Froden left to go back to Europe.
