Bruins Notes: Jim Montgomery Pinpoints Bad Habit In Preseason Loss

The Bruins couldn’t get anything going in the offensive zone, which led to a 4-1 loss in their penultimate preseason game against the Los Angeles Kings at Videotron Centre in Quebec City.

The Kings held the Bruins to just two shots in the opening 20 minutes of the game, and things didn’t get much better for the Black and Gold, who mustered only 14 shots through 60 minutes and gave up even-strength, power-play and shorthanded goals in the loss.

“I just thought that their tracking and their (defensive) gaps were really good,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters after the loss, per team-provided video. “And, we refused to put pucks in behind them and go in and check on the forecheck.”

The fact that opening night is just five days away could have contributed to the Bruins’ disinterest at times during the game.

“I do think guys are starting to look forward to Tuesday night,” Montgomery added. “A couple of last practices before, and for a lot of guys this was their last exhibition game. It’s more about timing for veterans and for the guys that are trying to make the team, it’s more about impressing.”

Last season, the Bruins had an issue with not starting games on time, and that bad habit appeared to rear its head in this matchup.

“I thought in the first we were asleep. We weren’t moving our legs,” Montgomery said. “One point, the defensemen aren’t moving their feet, and the forwards aren’t skating away from them to create any kind of speed, so it wasn’t a very good game by us in that sense.

“We’re looking at how we’re progressing, and not this game, but how we’re progressing throughout camp to get ready for Game 1. Generally, feel okay. Don’t like tonight. I didn’t like the game in New York, too.”

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Here are more notes from Thursday’s Bruins-Kings preseason game:

— Joonas Korpisalo made his third appearance for the Bruins against his former team. He made 22 saves on 26 shots for his second loss of the preseason. He was a perfect 11-for-11 in the first period with a lot of point shots, but he handled some high-danger looks late in the period. Korpisalo said he needed to have better movements across the crease.

“Just side-to-side to be ready for any option, not just the shot,” Korpisalo told reporters, per team video. “(I) feel sharp. I wasn’t happy with a couple of goals myself, but that’s pretty much what (the preseason’s) for. You gotta get better and learn things and move on.”

— Patrick Brown scored the lone Bruins goal in the game in the second period on a beautiful pass from Nikita Zadorov. Brown shot the puck in stride to beat David Rittich’s glove side.

— Patrice Bergeron joined his former team on the trip to his hometown and was greeted by a rousing ovation when he was honored on the ice before the game. The six-time Selke winner also dropped the ceremonial puck between David Pastrnak and Phillip Danault.

— Kings center Quinton Byfield recorded a hat trick in the game with two goals 25 seconds apart in the second period and his third in the final frame to secure the 4-1 victory for Los Angeles.

— The Bruins have one final preseason game against the Washington Capitals on Saturday. Puck drop from Capital One Arena is slated for 5 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game after an hour of pregame coverage on NESN.