Approaching the 20-game mark of the 2024-25 season, Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery has already pushed just about every button at his disposal.
But there’s only so many buttons to press, and with options dwindling and the same old problems remaining for his club, the third-year bench boss is simply running out of answers.
Especially when it comes to the Bruins’ newest issue, with another awful third period (zero shots on goal) dooming Boston in their latest setback, a 3-2 overtime loss to Ottawa at TD Garden.
“I don’t have an answer,” Montgomery said when asked why third periods, which have come with the Bruins outscored by a 16-5 mark on the season, have become an issue for the club. “[We’ll] talk about it. We’ll look at why and what we’re doing sports science-wise. Right now, I don’t have an answer for you.”
Brad Marchand continues to heat up
Nov 9, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) takes a shot against the Ottawa Senators during the first period at TD Garden. (Brian Fluharty/Imagn Images)
With a slow start to his year (and after three separate surgeries this past offseason), was entirely too easy to say that Bruins captain Brad Marchand was cooked. Finished. Over. I wasn’t comfortable enough to tell you that you were wrong (you simply never know when guys begin to inch towards their late-30s), I did feel like it was worth noting that the droughts were nothing new to Marchand and the Bruins.
In fact, if we go back to last season, Marchand had four different stretches of at least eight games without a goal. Even so, he still finished the season with 29 strikes, and it’s looking like Marchand’s status as a microwave that scores in bunches remains, with Saturday’s tally making it five goals and eight points in his last eight games.
I do think Marchand has looked better since skating with Elias Lindholm, which is perhaps no surprise given the fact that Lindholm is somewhat reminiscent of a poor man’s Patrice Bergeron as a right-shot center that thrives with the details within the game. (He won’t drive play like Bergeron, but that’s a role that’s always been one of Marchand’s better strengths at five-on-five, which may be what’s bringing out the better elements of his game.)
Ullmark makes return to Boston
Nov 9, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) hugs Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) before a game at TD Garden. (Brian Fluharty/Imagn Images)
Saturday night will be just the first of many times that Linus Ullmark returns to Boston, this time (or once again) as an opponent. But the Bruins made sure that Ullmark’s first time back in Boston came with a proper acknowledgement for his three years in town, complete with a pregame hug with Jeremy Swayman and a video.
“There was certainly a lot,” Ullmark, who stopped 14 of 16 shots for the win, said of his emotions. “Not gonna lie, it was a lot, especially during warm ups and the response going out there and hearing the crowd again. Also when just getting the win. … And the response tonight, it’s something that you dream of, especially when you’re coming in here as an opponent, you really want to bring your A-game and you want to do that.”
What’s ‘funny’ about Ullmark’s look back on his time in Boston is that he really feels like a true old-school Bruins diehard in the sense that he doesn’t think there’s much of a legacy given the team’s failures during his tenure.
“I wouldn’t say I accomplished anything,” Ullmark noted. “We didn’t win, and that’s something that’s always going to bother me, because I really felt that we had opportunities to do it. And so I’m going to bring with me those feelings, thoughts, emotions into this locker room and strive to become better and learn from my mistakes, but also the impressions and all those sort of things that I’ve been through to kind of handle it in a better way if we ever come to the same situation.”
Brady to Boston is only a dream
Nov 9, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Ottawa Senators left wing Brady Tkachuk (7) skates against Boston Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov (91) during the second period at TD Garden. (Brian Fluharty/Imagn Images)
Every time that Brady Tkachuk comes to town, there seems to be a new round of “Damn, the Bruins gotta get him.” He’s also the first name brought up by my pal Mike Felger when he talks about making a ‘Hockey Trade’ to reignite the Bruins as a true Stanley Cup threat. I understand it. I get it, believe me. But, in case watching him alone wasn’t enough to tell you, the Senators are not interested in trading Brady Tkachuk.
I talked about this on The Hockey Show on Saturday, but I think people sometimes make a connection to Brady being traded because his brother Matthew was ultimately traded out of Calgary and to Florida, where it’s worked absolute wonders for the Panthers. Just check the banners for proof. But Brady’s situation is not the same. Brady has been in complete lockstep with the Senators throughout their retooling process (and they’ve had his support throughout, and communicate with him like he’s almost a member of the front office), and Brady has outright denied trade rumors whenever they’ve come up.
The dream, for now, is only a dream.
