{"id":898841,"date":"2026-10-29T14:56:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T14:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/898841\/"},"modified":"2026-10-29T14:56:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T14:56:13","slug":"bruins-face-fascinating-test-against-former-coach-with-both-teams-desperate-for-answers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/898841\/","title":{"rendered":"Bruins Face Fascinating Test Against Former Coach With Both Teams Desperate For Answers"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Boston Bruins<\/a> will see a familiar face behind the opposing bench Thursday night. Jim Montgomery, who guided Boston through one of the most remarkable regular seasons in NHL history, will be waiting when the Bruins face the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center.<\/p>\n

The reunion is interesting enough on its own. But the circumstances surrounding the game make it even more compelling.<\/p>\n

Both teams are coming off frustrating defeats, and their offensive problems couldn’t be more different. Boston struggled to generate shots against Carolina. St. Louis generated an enormous number against Montreal but couldn’t score.<\/p>\n

Something will have to change Thursday.<\/p>\n

Sixteen Shots Versus Forty-Six<\/p>\n

The Bruins managed a season-low 16 shots on goal during Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. Jeremy Swayman stopped 28 shots and kept Boston competitive, but the Bruins couldn’t generate enough sustained pressure to overcome Carolina.<\/p>\n

The loss ended an eight-game point streak and dropped Boston to 9-3-1.<\/p>\n

St. Louis experienced an entirely different kind of frustration that same night.<\/p>\n

The Blues fired 46 shots on goal against Montreal, their highest total of the season, yet lost 2-0. It was their second consecutive shutout defeat after a 4-0 loss to Carolina.<\/p>\n

Think about that contrast.<\/p>\n

Boston scored once on 16 shots. St. Louis couldn’t score at all despite generating nearly three times as many attempts on goal. One team needs to create more opportunities. The other needs to finish the opportunities it already creates. That should make Thursday’s game an intriguing test of which coaching staff can solve its problems first.<\/p>\n

Montgomery’s Boston History Still Stands Out<\/p>\n

Montgomery’s tenure with the Bruins included a historic 2022-23 season in which Boston set NHL records with 65 victories and 135 points. He won the Jack Adams Award as the league’s top coach and helped establish expectations that remained extremely high throughout his time in Boston.<\/p>\n

His Bruins regular-season record was 120-41-23 before his departure in November 2024. St. Louis hired Montgomery just days after his dismissal, bringing him back to an organization where he previously worked as an assistant.<\/p>\n

Now Montgomery faces a Bruins team led by Marco Sturm. Boston has won nine of its first 13 games, while the Blues enter Thursday at 5-6-1.<\/p>\n

The standings favor Boston, but the emotional and tactical elements surrounding a game against a former coach add another dimension.<\/p>\n

Montgomery knows several Bruins players extremely well. He understands the organization’s expectations and the pressure that comes with representing Boston. The Bruins, meanwhile, know how demanding Montgomery can be when his team isn’t performing.<\/p>\n

MORE:\u00a0How to Watch Bruins vs. Blues Tonight: Channel, Live Stream & Start Time for NHL Game<\/a><\/p>\n

Boston Has A Chance To Respond<\/p>\n

The Bruins swept last season’s two meetings with St. Louis, winning both by identical 5-2 scores. David Pastrnak enters Thursday with seven goals and 11 assists, while Boston has scored 49 goals through 13 games.<\/p>\n

Those numbers show that Tuesday’s offensive difficulties were not representative of the team’s overall start.<\/p>\n

St. Louis has its own dangerous players, including Mason McTavish and Dylan Holloway, who each entered the game with 10 points. The Blues will be trying to end their scoring drought. Boston will be trying to prove that its defeat against Carolina was merely one difficult night.<\/p>\n

Thursday’s game is about more than a reunion with Montgomery. It’s an opportunity for the Bruins to show they can adjust when an opponent takes away their preferred offensive approach.<\/p>\n

And the man standing behind the opposing bench knows exactly how important that adjustment can be.<\/p>\n

More Bruins<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Boston Bruins will see a familiar face behind the opposing bench Thursday night. Jim Montgomery, who guided…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":898842,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[385,99],"class_list":["post-898841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=898841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898841\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/898842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=898841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=898841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=898841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}