Why Jim Montgomery had a wildly animated night behind Bruins bench in Game 5
An already-emotional playoff series between the Bruins and Panthers hit new heights Tuesday night.
Namely behind the B’s bench, where Jim Montgomery made his feelings known again and again, both with his words and some downright wild acting mimicking the on-ice action. Particularly in regards to penalties called against his team on what he felt were embellishments by the Panthers.
The performances from Montgomery were honestly nothing short of electric. Like, just absolutely unhinged (in the best possible way) by 2024 NHL head coaching standards kind of stuff.
Montgomery’s one-man show began when Bruins defenseman Mason Lohrei was whistled for a hook against the Panthers’ Eetu Luostarinen.
Before Lohrei could even make it to the box, an incensed Montgomery was pantomiming that it was a dive. Complete with diving board motions and a mock of Luostarinen throwing himself backwards. Montgomery even appeared to tell the referees “you’ll see” when referencing the dive on the play.
Montgomery’s show continued later in the night, too, as he seemingly mocked the Panthers and their noticeable habit of simply throwing their heads back on any and all contact throughout this series. Even to the delight of the woman sitting directly behind the Boston bench.
What. A. Show.
And while we all tried to avoid asking Montgomery what he thought about the officiating and the calls (you’re welcome, Don Sweeney), we couldn’t help but ask Montgomery just what went into this highly-animated performance behind the bench.
“Well, I just think in the league in general, the embellishments [are] going up,” Montgomery offered following his team’s Game 5 victory. “Players are getting better and better at grabbing their heads, snapping their heads back, getting hooked and going with the hook and jumping back.
“Used to be when I was growing up, Billy Barber was the guy that was known the best for it, and [he] drew a lot of penalties because of it. And I just think it makes it hard on the refs, you know? Because you don’t know if a guy was really high-stuck or if he’s just trying to get a call.”
It is worth noting that the Panthers were called for an embellishment in this game, as the on-ice officials opted to take both Morgan Geekie and Anton Lundell off for two minutes after Lundell fell like a house of cards following a Geekie crosscheck in the first period of play.
The Bruins, for what it’s worth, have made their feelings on the Panthers’ inability to stay on their feet known to the league. And with one embellishment on the board, it’ll be interesting to see if Montgomery’s comments — and his Al Pacino-esque performances behind the bench — continue to make a difference in how this series is officiated between now and its conclusion.