Four Bruins Takeaways From Interim Coach Joe Sacco’s First Practice

BOSTON — The Bruins relieved Jim Montgomery of his duties on Tuesday, and the following morning began a new era for the franchise with interim head coach Joe Sacco.

Montgomery was let go after an 8-9-3 record. General manager Don Sweeney, Sacco and Boston’s captains reflected on the change, and there were four clear takeaways from their news conferences.

PAYING RESPECT TO MONTY
It was mentioned in team statements, but everyone who spoke to the media had glowing praise of Montgomery. The 55-year-old guided the Black and Gold to the Presidents’ Trophy his first season, which earned him the Jack Adams Award. Montgomery earned the respect of the locker room, and it was clear from the reactions of Sweeney, Sacco and the players that they had high respect for Montgomery as a person, too. However, Charlie McAvoy noted that the NHL is still a business and a tough decision needed to be made.

TOO SOON?
Twenty games into a season might seem like a small sample size to make a coaching change. However, Sweeney noted how quickly things can shift in the NHL and how the league can “humble” you. He also noted how the Bruins “can’t stay neutral” and must turn things around with 60 games to go.

“I just didn’t like the direction. We had a small, incremental bump in terms of playing the right way in Philadelphia coming home into Seattle, but we couldn’t maintain it,” Sweeney said. “Even over the course of games, we couldn’t. We’re in a 2-0 hockey game in Dallas. We got off to a tough start, first shot goes in, but you battle back. You’re in a 2-1 hockey game and all of a sudden, bang, three goals. That’s just parts of the things that bother me as a general manager where our team can’t stay as closely as they’ve been. They can’t through the adversity piece of a game, and they can’t respond from game-to-game. And that’s why I made a decision at this point in time. There’s still 60 games to go. This group is capable of more, and that’s what we’re going to expect from them.”

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
Sweeney and Sacco adamantly believe the Bruins are better than what they’ve shown. Sweeney said he wanted the Bruins to go back to “being a harder out.” A common theme from Wednesday’s media availabilities was how a slow training camp affected multiple players. Not one person was singled out, but there was a belief that the Bruins started from behind with a subpar training camp, which resulted in early-season struggles for the team.

Sacco’s two focuses for practice Wednesday were the energy level and the execution. The interim head coach liked what he saw and believes that the work done in practice, pre-skate and training will lead to results on the ice. The former Colorado Avalanche head coach also pinpointed how the Bruins can be a “harder out” for the opposition.

“I think a lot of it is a mindset right now with our group. Certainly, we need to bring that our of them. And one thing we’re going to focus on is being a harder team to play against. And when I say that I mean just stingier,” Sacco said. “We need to do a better job in front of our goaltenders. If you look at the 10 years that I’ve been here, we’ve always been a team that takes pride in defending our goaltender, defending the net-front and defending the zone. So for me, that’s one area where we’re going to be difficult to play against. Playing our system, which will allow us to be successful.”

SPECIAL TEAMS
Sacco said the plan in the short term is for him to maintain his role leading the penalty kill with assistant coach Chris Kelly running the power play. Special teams were one of the more glaring issues for Boston in the first quarter of the season. The Black and Gold ranked last in power-play percentage and 25th in penalty-kill percentage in that stretch. Sweeney highlighted how Sacco is a direct person and is someone who can help simplify things.

Mentality was the key focus on how to turn things around with an emphasis on defense. Sacco touted the offensive talent that can find positive regression, but it starts with defense.

“We have the personnel to deliver. I’m confident in that,” Sacco said.