Most coaches don’t like to build up one game as bigger than the next. It’s just one in a stack of 82.
But Bruins first-year coach Jim Montgomery did the exact opposite Friday, elevating Boston’s matchup with the rival Toronto Maple Leafs, who are in second place behind the B’s in the Atlantic Division, on Saturday at TD Garden.
“I think it’s a bigger game than the average regular-season game,” Montgomery told reporters following practice, per team-provided video. “I don’t know if it’s at the point where how much does this dictate anything. I don’t think it’s that because we’re still not even at All-Star break. But it’s an important game for both teams.
“They’ve lost two out of three. We’ve lost one. And at home we’ve gone to overtime the other two prior games before we won. We need to get our game in order and tomorrow’s a good opportunity against one of the teams — Toronto, Carolina and ourselves have probably been the three teams that have been consistently the best so far this year. So, it’s a good test for us.”
The Bruins will look to shrug off their first regulation loss at home when they welcome the Maple Leafs to town. Boston was also shutout for the first time this season Thursday against the Seattle Kraken.
Both Montgomery and Bruins winger Taylor Hall expect the Maple Leafs to play a pressure style of hockey similar to the Kraken. It certainly worked well for Toronto earlier this season when it handed Boston one of its five regulation losses on the campaign with a 2-1 defeat at Scotiabank Arena on Nov. 5.
“They were five together, they were over top of us, they protected the middle of the ice really well in their own end,” Montgomery said recalling the first matchup with Toronto. “So, that game, coupled with the game (Thursday) night, are learning opportunities for us. How to create more offense when we’re playing teams that play tight checking.”
And even though the Bruins have nine more points than the Maple Leafs and have two games in hand at the moment, too, Hall senses the importance of the game as well.
“I think we were all disappointed with (Thursday) night, but at the same time you realize losses happen, and we don’t want to be a team that loses two in a row,” Hall said, per team-provided video. “We also know who’s coming in tomorrow night and down the road what the meaning of the game might be. So, it’s always exciting to play Toronto. It’s different when it’s on a Saturday night and we’re excited for that.”
