Bruins coach Montgomery calls Oilers "better team" after head-to-head tilt
The Edmonton Oilers certainly have high expectations for themselves.
So when the head coach of an NHL team challenging for the league’s single-season wins record tips a cap to the Oilers, it doesn’t go unnoticed.
And that’s what Bruins bench boss Jim Montgomery did after a 3-2 Edmonton win at TD Garden in Boston on Thursday, as he gave a nod to the Oilers team trending upward at just the right time to snag some Pacific Division positioning.
“I thought the Oilers were a better team,” Montgomery admitted. “They were good. We weren’t good enough. I thought they outplayed us, outworked us, outcoached us.
“It was a good lesson for us to learn because they played well.”
History, it seems, repeats itself.
The last time the Bruins lost in regulation when leading after two periods was on November 11, 2021, on home ice in Boston, against the Oilers, according to play-by-play caller Jack Michaels.
“After the first period, we said we were lucky to be up 2-0. They were the better team,” Montgomery reiterated.
“We were a very non-competitive team offensively tonight, I guess is the best way to say it.
“Where we should’ve been pushing the envelope we sealing the envelope.”
The Bruins are the NHL’s toast of the town, with an incredible 103 points by way of a 49-9-5 record and a .817 points percentage.
Yes, that’s only nine regulation losses — with the latest coming at the hands of the Oilers’ rally. The Bruins have a nine-point lead over the Carolina Hurricanes for second in the entire NHL.
Suffice it to say, Montgomery’s praise is hefty.
The points are important, too.
The win moves the Oilers into a tie with the Seattle Kraken for third in the Pacific Division at 80 points, with the latter having one game at hand. It also moves Edmonton within four points of first, with the Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings currently co-opting the position.
Boston’s compliment tour started well before scoring three straight to rally to a second straight win and sixth in the past 10.
Pesky, plucky forward Brad Marchand was quick to toss out compliments to Connor McDavid pre-game in another hat tip to the absolutely insane season the Edmonton captain is piecing together.
McDavid is the clear-cut favourite for the Hart Trophy, Art Ross Trophy, Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy, and Ted Lindsay Award. He leads the NHL by a wide margin in goals (54) and points (124), and is scoring at a near-historic pace.
“What McDavid’s doing in the league right now, it’s truly incredible,” said Marchand, a point-per-game skater with 55 points (20 goals, 35 assists) in 55 games this season.
“Definitely one of the best players to ever play the game, and it’s special to watch first-hand.
“We only see him twice a year, but [we’re] watching the highlights each night to see what he does. We’re still fans of the game, and it’s a lot of fun to witness history firsthand and be able to say we all played against him, so that’s pretty cool.”
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