Bruins captain Brad Marchand believed the message from Montgomery was “completely warranted.”
“Every day it’s our job to be sharp and to be on the ball,” said Marchand. “We weren’t today, so it was a great reminder from Monty that expectations are high here. Completely warranted, especially with the games we have coming up and where we are in the season. We need to be dialed in every day. We weren’t to start practice. Great job by him to notice that and keep us accountable and get us dialed in.”
Following the sprints, the practice improved dramatically as the Bruins were able to dial things back in as they prepared for an important road trip to Florida, Tampa, and Washington that begins on Tuesday night against the Panthers in Sunrise.
“We deserved it. We came back, battled, and had a pretty good practice right after that. You just gotta come ready to play and focused and come ready to work every day,” said Coyle. “It was very warranted today…no matter if you’re tired, not tired, you have to come focused and ready to work. That stuff happens and we respond to it…it’s the same mindset, we always have to have that.”
With just 10 games remaining in the regular season, however, the Bruins are running out of time to shore up their game before the Stanley Cup Playoffs commence. And right now, Montgomery believes there is much work to be done for his team to get to where it needs to be.
“I don't think our team is ready yet for the playoffs. We’ve got to continue to get tested, and we're going to get tested,” said Montgomery. “To me, it's as much as team as its individual, who's ready to handle big moments? And again, it goes back to, we just went through two games…checking is elevated in the league. The league usually goes up right after All-Star break, and I find it's gone to another level here in the last few games.
"We're going against one of the best defensive teams in the league here in [Florida], so it's going to be hard. Do we lose our patience and start giving up odd-man rushes? Or do we continue to fight and have a second and third effort, play the right way, and get a greasy goal to win a hockey game?
“That's what I'm looking for in the Florida game, the Tampa game...all three games are going to test us.”
Marchand added that the details of the game that the Bruins pride themselves on are one of the biggest areas for improvement.
“That’s what wins and loses in playoffs, is the details,” said Marchand. “One mistake can cost you a game. It’s not something you can turn on and off come playoff time. It’s something that you need to be really detailed in coming down the stretch. The game doesn’t need to be perfect, you’re never gonna get there, but you need to strive for that every day.
“You see the teams that are fighting for their lives, they’re playing for keeps every night and they’re competing at a different level and they’re already in playoff mode. Even though we’re not in that same position, we have to have that same mindset. That ultimately means that we need to be prepared in every minute of the game to take care of the puck and be on top of our structure.
“When we do that, we’re a great team. When we get away from it, we’re not.”
