Jim Montgomery reacts to Blues’ Game 7 collapse

The St. Louis Blues - led by former Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery - held a 3-1 lead inside of the final two minutes of play in Game 7 against the Winnipeg Jets. They found themselves later eliminated from contention in the Stanley Cup Playoffs after choking away said lead and losing to the Jets in double-overtime.

"The puck luck was incredible," said Montgomery after the game. The Blues were just 1.6 seconds away from securing the victory and advancing to the second round. The loss marks another blown lead in the third period of a Game 7 scenario by a Montgomery-coached team.

Overall, Montgomery did a good job at turning the Blues' season around. They finished with a 44-30-8 record (96 points), that was largely due to their new coach, who was responsible for the 35-18-7 record (77 points) after he took over. Nonetheless, the narrative for Montgomery, as a good regular season coach who can't get the job done in the playoffs, remains the same.

Obviously, the job he did in St. Louis will dispel some of the blame he was given for the Bruins' season - especially with the Bruins finishing at the bottom of the league. But, until one of his teams finds actual playoff success, he will still be viewed as an underachiever.

Luke Graham is a digital sports content co-op for 98.5 the Sports Hub. He is currently a sophomore at Northeastern University studying communications and media studies. Read all his articles here, and follow him on X @LukeGraham05.