Brad Marchand Issues Reality Check About Jim Montgomery’s Exit

Bruins general manager Don Sweeney on Wednesday afternoon stressed that Jim Montgomery didn’t lose Boston’s dressing room before he was relieved of his head-coaching duties.

Comments made by B’s captain Brad Marchand shortly thereafter confirmed as much.

“Very disappointing day and also very frustrating. This is a reflection of our play and it was avoidable,” Marchand told reporters, per a team-provided video.”That’s the tough part about this. If we would have done our job in here, he’d still be around. So, (we) feel terrible as a group. We let a really good coach and a really good person down and the effect it has not just on him, but on his family. So yeah, it’s a crappy day.”

Marchand and his Bruins teammates now will be challenged to do their jobs under interim head coach Joe Sacco, who has been with the Original Six organization since 2014. Sacco gained four seasons of head-coaching experience in Colorado before making his way to Boston and this won’t be Marchand’s first time dealing with an in-season coaching change.

Thus, there are reasons to believe the Bruins will turn things around and play up to their standards. The effort to spark that change begins Thursday night when Boston hosts the Utah Hockey Club, which will have full coverage on NESN beginning at 6 p.m. ET.