Jim Montgomery's Issues Telling Reaction to Bruins' Early Concerns

The Boston Bruins ' start to the 2024-25 NHL season has been a mixed bag. While a 2-2-0 record through the first four games isn't awful, Monday's 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers — their second time losing to the Stanley Cup Champions in a week — has left the Bruins fanbase concerned about the club's outlook.

It turns out that the team's fans aren't the only ones who are worried.

Following Tuesday's practice, Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters that he's concerned by the lack of effort he's seeing from his players.

"You're going to have times in the season where you go 3-6-1 in 10 games," Montgomery told the media, referring to the Bruins' struggles last December. "Right now, it's the consistency of our effort level over chemistry that is hurting."

Montgomery said that he "could" make some line changes, however, that isn't guaranteed. He plans to leave the lines that work — such as the John Beecher-Mark Kastellic-Cole Koepke unit — together while potentially tinkering with the other as he did during Monday's loss.

Things have been going well offensively for the Bruins, who are averaging 3.75 goals per game (T-8th). Unfortunately, that success hasn't extended to the defensive end. They're also allowing 3.75 goals against per out, which is tied for the 10th-worst in the NHL.

It doesn't help that the Bruins' power play is also struggling. While the penalty kill is still among the NHL's top units, Boston's PP is only operating on an 11.1 percent success rate (T-26th) compared to last season's clip of 22.2 percent (14th).

It isn't all bad news for Bruins fans, though. Montgomery mentioned at his press conference that he "liked the effort level" during Tuesday's practice, signaling a potential turnaround if the players continue to buy into his coaching.

All eyes will be on the Bruins to see how to respond to Montgomery's early concerns when they face the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena on Wednesday. The Avalanche are currently 0-3-0 to begin the year, offering the Bruins the perfect opportunity to bounce back.

Related: Jeremy Swayman’s Contract Sets New Bar for Goalies, Says Insider