Jim Montgomery Applauds Terrific Response From Bruins Forward After Benching

Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery kept waiting to see the Morgan Geekie he saw last season.

Well, that version of Geekie showed up Tuesday night for the Bruins against the St. Louis Blues. The veteran forward drummed up a terrific response after being a healthy scratch the previous three games.

Geekie scored a pivotal goal to spark a third-period rally as the Bruins scored three times in the final frame to upend the Blues for a thrilling 3-2 road win.

“Really proud of him,” Montgomery told Andy Brickley, as seen on NESN postgame coverage. “He sat out, maybe, three games in a row. I could see his work ethic in practice coming and coming. That’s his best game of the year. That’s the Morgan Geekie we know can help the Bruins win every night.”

Geekie got the Bruins rolling 4:53 into the third period when he took a deflected feed from David Pastrnak and snuck a shot inside the near-post past Blues goalie Jordan Binnington. It was Geekie’s first goal of the season after recording a career-high 17 tallies a season ago.

“It was good. It’s always nice to get the first one, especially just coming back in the lineup,” Geekie told reporters, per team-provided audio. “It helps a lot. It’s good mentally, for sure.”

Geekie’s strong showing continued as he was also on the ice when Pastrnak netted the decisive goal with 1:47 left in the third period.

Geekie returned to the lineup after the Bruins sent Matthew Poitras down to Providence and the former likely will stay right where he is due to his excellent performance.