Montgomery Addresses Massive Line Shakeup
As the Boston Bruins gear up for a challenging four-game road trip, Coach Jim Montgomery is wasting no time in making adjustments to their forward lines. Just two games into the season, he's keen on optimizing the team's offensive potential and generating the much-needed spark.
Montgomery explained his rationale for the changes, acknowledging the small sample size of the season. He noted,
"We're going on the road. That factors into it a little bit on why. But I haven't seen a lot of offensive 5-on-5 generation. Again, small sample size. I just think � I trust my eye behind the bench, and then follow it up, and I see it on video, I just want to try something else to get a spark."
Following a travel day, Wednesday's practice at Sharks Ice, the San Jose Sharks' practice facility, didn't initially exhibit the desired intensity. Montgomery elaborated,
"I didn't like [the intensity] in the beginning. You kind of expected a long day yesterday, change in the time, all that factors into it. I thought after the first seven minutes, the pace picked up, and we started to have the intensity that we're going to require to have any kind of success [Thursday]."
A significant aspect of this intensity can be traced back to the new second line featuring Brad Marchand, Matthew Poitras, and Morgan Geekie.
"The speed and creativity have been evident, and they're going hard to the net, which I don't care what the makeup is of your line," the Bruins' head coach emphasized. "I don't care if you're a possession line or you're a rush line. You've got to get to the hard areas, and you've got to stop there, and I see them doing that."
Notably, Montgomery hasn't shied away from experimenting with Geekie, transitioning him from a natural center to the wing and back during preseason and into the early stages of the 2023-24 regular season. This adaptability has been met with strong approval from the Bruins' bench boss.
"I just like the way he builds a team game," Montgomery stated. "I especially like how he wins races to the net front and stays there, takes a lot of punishment. I think he's someone that's going to really help us with our net-front battle and our net-front presence, five on five and on the power play."
As the Bruins embark on their road trip, Montgomery's strategic changes to the lines will undoubtedly be closely watched by fans, as they hope to see the team's offensive output on the rise.
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