The Bruins and the Celtics are having a lot of success to start their respective seasons, combining for 37 wins.
Playing in Boston in particular has given the TD Garden crowd a lot to cheer for. The Bruins are undefeated at home going into Saturday’s game against the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche, while the Celtics have won 10 straight games in Boston and are a combined 24-1 at TD Garden.
Both teams had a change at head coach before their seasons began and had a lot of questions facing them, but the Bruins and the Celtics overcame any doubt and look like legitimate championship contenders.
Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery was able to talk to C’s bench boss — and Eastern Conference Coach of the Month — Joe Mazzulla on Black Friday in between games after the B’s defeated the Carolina Hurricanes in thrilling overtime fashion.
“It’s very impressive what they’re doing, watching the highlights (Wednesday),” Montgomery told reporters after Thursday’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena. “The parallels are amazing. I’ve had the good fortune of talking with their head coach. The day after Thanksgiving, we played and then him and I spent 10 minutes talking together.
“When we were talking, the parallels are, we’ve left the defensive schemes and changed the offensive schemes, or added to the offensive schemes, because we thought there was more there. They’re scoring at levels they haven’t scored at, and so are we. So, there’s a lot of similarities in the way we both have approached taking over new teams, and the results have been dynamite for both.”
The Bruins are getting scoring from quite literally everyone in their lineup and no longer look like a one-line team — a narrative that has followed them the last few seasons. The Celtics’ reserve players have come in clutch game after game and they’re still without center Robert Williams.
It’s a shame the Bruins couldn’t help pass on some of that luck at home to the New England Patriots on Thursday night when some members of the team took in the eventual 24-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium.
The Celtics look to make it 11 straight wins at home Friday night when they welcome the Miami Heat to TD Garden for a 7:30 p.m. ET tip. The Bruins drop the puck with the Avs on Saturday at 7 p.m.
