Could Jim Montgomery flip sides in just two short years?
Jim Montgomery led the Black and Gold to the Presidents' Trophy in his first season with the Boston Bruins in 2022-23. In doing so, they set the NHL record for wins and points in a regular season in what was truly a record-setting season. At the trade deadline, general manager Don Sweeney loaded up his roster and set his team up for a deep postseason run.
However, after building a 3-1 first-round series lead over the Florida Panthers, the Black and Gold ended up losing the final three games, two in overtime at home, and went from a historic regular season to a historic playoff choke job and elimination against the last team in the Eastern Conference field.
Back in November, after Boston started slow, Sweeney fired Montgomery after just over two seasons and one Jack Adams Award later. One week after being let go by the Bruins, Montgomery was quickly scooped up by the St. Louis Blues, and he led a turnaround from near the bottom of the Western Conference standings to the No. 8 seed in the playoffs. Now, four games into his first-round series against the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets, Montgomery has a chance to do the funniest thing.
Former Bruins coach Jim Montgomery has a chance to flip the script in the Stanley Cup Playoffs
On the other side of things, this season, Montgomery has a chance to do the funniest thing and is halfway there. St. Louis dropped the first two games against the Jets and came home and rolled to a pair of wins to even the series 2-2, heading back to Winnipeg for Game 5 Wednesday night.
There is no way that the Jets are going to lose four of the final five games of the series after going up 2-0, are they? The Presidents Trophy-winners won’t blow a double-digit game lead in the opening round of the postseason, would they? If they do, Montgomery could go from blowing a two-game series lead as the Presidents' Trophy-winners to rallying from a two-game deficit against the Presidents' Trophy-winners all in two short years. Oh, the drama and narrative that would come if it happened.
