Yes. To put it in hockey talk: Their best players haven’t been their best players. Maybe @TheRealness is onto something
'24-'25 Bruins Regular Season
- Thread starter cshea
- Start date
I just a lot of it is buy in on how the organization wants them to play. They want to be a dump it in and forecheck team but they don’t have the coach to implement and execute that system.
Then they go out and get beat in two games against Florida. After that I could see a bunch of the veterans saying “What the fuck are we doing here?”
No notes. This sums up my feelings as well. I also echo the call-up sentiments and signing Johnson, etc… I don’t know if it’s the addition of talent that is needed more or the spark that sometimes comes with the infusion of new blood.
Another thought I’ve been having, and I feel this won’t be popular/is too fanboyish is this: two years ago they had the miracle year and immediately were bounced. Last year in Marchand’s first year as Captain, they over perform expectations, but again have an early exit. I wonder if it’s difficult, even for professionals, to muster up the same level of enthusiasm entering this season. Especially if you do not have reason to believe there will be a different outcome. I know, I know; armchair psychology of a group of dudes I don’t know IRL.
Or maybe they have tuned out the Coach.
As you can see, I’m just as much at a loss as you guys.
Before the season, I did predict a rocky October and a good to very good November, but that was largely schedule based. I have since been disheartened. Still, I am waiting to see where the dust settles come Dec. 1.
Go B’s.
Have no fear, my cousin got a call today to show Tyler Johnson some places in the North End. So help is on the way!
Undoubtedly. But I bet Chara with Bergy as his assistant would make sure that those guys put forth ALOT of effort! Like every game. Or else!
Another bad idea would be to do nothing. I like the Bergy idea. Only Berube attracts me as an experienced coach and he has a job.
If there’s no one that can bring in with experience than go interim with Leach and then do a full search in the offseason.
If you feel like I do, that there is enough talent on this team to be a 2nd round playoff team, but they’ve tuned out the coach, then they gotta see if getting him out of there works. But what they can’t do is bring in someone with no experience because they probably won’t buy into that guy either.
I know the scoring issues have been discussed to death. But Swayman is statistically worse than Korpi this season.
-2.2 GSAE for Sway
-0.8 for Korpi
-2.8 GSAA for Sway
-2.4 for Korpi
.771 HD Save% for Sway
.810 for Korpi
When your franchise Goalie can't stop a beach ball and is being out performed by a guy widely considered to be terrible that's a major issue as well. Yes SSS definitely applies
-2.2 GSAE for Sway
-0.8 for Korpi
-2.8 GSAA for Sway
-2.4 for Korpi
.771 HD Save% for Sway
.810 for Korpi
When your franchise Goalie can't stop a beach ball and is being out performed by a guy widely considered to be terrible that's a major issue as well. Yes SSS definitely applies
One of the most disturbing issues about this team last year was how poor they were at 5v5 and the extent to which the goaltending bailed them out. That problem reared it's head in the playoffs and they couldn't really generate offense against a superior defensive team. Then in the offseason they lost Jake Debrusk and spent $13m on two players with next to zero recent track record of 5v5 play driving. And here we are:
44.44% xG - 29th in the league
16 5v5 GF - 25th in the league
17.5 5v5 xGF - 28th in the league
Their defensive results at 5v5 really are more middle than putrid:
20 5v5 GA - 14th in the league
21.32 5v5 xGA - 20th in the league
To put that into context, they were 18th in xGA last year. @katnado rightly points out that the goaltending performance has been massively different. Last year they saved 33.42 goals above expected. This year its - 3. Those results last year made the 18th ranked team in xGA into the 3rd ranked team by GA. That has completely left this team this year.
Another problem is their special teams. They've given up the most goals in the league on the PK and the most xGA as well. They aren't really getting unlucky, they are getting pumped. Add to that their proclivity to take maddeningly stupid penalties and its a very bad combination. They are also 23rd in GF/60 on the PP. Just not good enough.
The real problem lies in the offense. It is woeful and showing zero signs of correction. You can win enough games to get into the playoffs with a mediocre defense and a good offense, but they are one of the worst offensive teams in the league right now and I'm concerned that the hole is getting too deep for them to dig out of before it's too late.
The good news is I just simmed the lottery 4 times on tankathon and we got James Hagens!
44.44% xG - 29th in the league
16 5v5 GF - 25th in the league
17.5 5v5 xGF - 28th in the league
Their defensive results at 5v5 really are more middle than putrid:
20 5v5 GA - 14th in the league
21.32 5v5 xGA - 20th in the league
To put that into context, they were 18th in xGA last year. @katnado rightly points out that the goaltending performance has been massively different. Last year they saved 33.42 goals above expected. This year its - 3. Those results last year made the 18th ranked team in xGA into the 3rd ranked team by GA. That has completely left this team this year.
Another problem is their special teams. They've given up the most goals in the league on the PK and the most xGA as well. They aren't really getting unlucky, they are getting pumped. Add to that their proclivity to take maddeningly stupid penalties and its a very bad combination. They are also 23rd in GF/60 on the PP. Just not good enough.
The real problem lies in the offense. It is woeful and showing zero signs of correction. You can win enough games to get into the playoffs with a mediocre defense and a good offense, but they are one of the worst offensive teams in the league right now and I'm concerned that the hole is getting too deep for them to dig out of before it's too late.
The good news is I just simmed the lottery 4 times on tankathon and we got James Hagens!
I was worried about the offense going into the season, but I didn't think it would be this bad. I think it'll get better, but I don't think it'll get much better.
This team's middle depth just got depleted to try and squeeze in more high-end talent and when that high-end talent underperforms, there's a huge gap to the players that are left. This team is top-heavy and not playing up to their contracts and its obvious.
I think Monty is too stuck on a specific style of play and not the team he has.
I think the FO has an idea of who they want to be, but aren't making good moves to achieve it.
The result is chaos. I kinda want a burn-it-down rebuild, but we have too many bad, long deals to do that cleanly. Do we need to rely on multiple bad years and drafting to rebuild talent?
I think Monty is too stuck on a specific style of play and not the team he has.
I think the FO has an idea of who they want to be, but aren't making good moves to achieve it.
The result is chaos. I kinda want a burn-it-down rebuild, but we have too many bad, long deals to do that cleanly. Do we need to rely on multiple bad years and drafting to rebuild talent?
Weak opponent caveats apply but a very good weekend. Two wins, two shutouts. In all situations, expected goals were 9.63-3.93, 70%. They were at about 59% at 5x5 which is excellent. They were air tight defensively and the offense was much more dangerous. Time will tell if it's real or just a blip against a couple of lousy teams.
All that said, the only headline coming from the weekend will be Pastrnak's benching. Big button for Monty to push. I don't think Pasta's been great this year but singling him out when there are a bunch of other guys (Coyle, Frederic) who have similarly struggled could backfire. Also with the heat turned up on Monty they were cruising to a weekend sweep and dousing some of the flames...and he went ahead and threw anotehr log on the fire.
We'll see how Pasta and the rest of the team respond.
All that said, the only headline coming from the weekend will be Pastrnak's benching. Big button for Monty to push. I don't think Pasta's been great this year but singling him out when there are a bunch of other guys (Coyle, Frederic) who have similarly struggled could backfire. Also with the heat turned up on Monty they were cruising to a weekend sweep and dousing some of the flames...and he went ahead and threw anotehr log on the fire.
We'll see how Pasta and the rest of the team respond.
I think there's a difference between a player struggling and a player making selfish mistakes, and that's probably why Pasta got benched, but guys like Coyle aren't.
View: https://twitter.com/briandefelice_/status/1853262429246857553
The Pastrnak situation is a dicey one because, as you said, he’s one of several guys that have made really bad decisions with the puck. Marchand made a very similar play last week, and Montgomery just yelled at him, he didn’t bench him for the 3rd.
Pastrnak is always going to turn the puck over more than any other forward because he has the puck more. That one at the end of the 2nd was really bad. I don’t think he being lazy or careless. He looks like a guy that is used to creating offense that is trying to do too much out there. I’m sure that benching him is the right move.
We’ll see how Pastrnak responds. He didn’t talk after the game, so we don’t know where his heads at. Montgomery is taking a big gamble here. Pastrnak is a face of the franchise guy signed for 7 more years and $77 million dollars, and the guy benching him doesn’t have a contract after this year.
Pastrnak is always going to turn the puck over more than any other forward because he has the puck more. That one at the end of the 2nd was really bad. I don’t think he being lazy or careless. He looks like a guy that is used to creating offense that is trying to do too much out there. I’m sure that benching him is the right move.
We’ll see how Pastrnak responds. He didn’t talk after the game, so we don’t know where his heads at. Montgomery is taking a big gamble here. Pastrnak is a face of the franchise guy signed for 7 more years and $77 million dollars, and the guy benching him doesn’t have a contract after this year.
I dont know if it's the right thing or the wrong thing, but I'm glad Monty actually did something.
They were guilty of about a half dozen fly-by plays in the home shutout vs. Philly last week. I would think / hope those were still fresh in Montgomery's head, and a 2-0 lead against a bad team at home is about the best chance to send that message.
Pasta has the most prolific play driving game of any player on the team all season and Monty benches him lol. He had 6 5v5 shot attempts in 2 periods and 98% xG.
I remain unimpressed with this coach.
I remain unimpressed with this coach.
Bruins pregame show made a point out of Pasta not playing well and with the effort he’d shown in the past. I’d be surprised if this was an out of the blue move for Monty. He probably tried to push a few other buttons without making his point and resorted to the most public one.
So he shouldn't be held accountable for making boneheaded plays? I understand he's going to turn the puck over more than anyone, but he's had a lot recently that were completely avoidable, plus he's taken some really lazy penalties. I've been critical of Monty but this was one of his better decisions
I think anecdotally punishing a player while they are having the most effective game of the season of any player quantitatively, is a pretty dumb move, yes.
Not all turnovers, which quantitatively show up as 1 turnover, are created equally. Blindly managing to a spreadsheet in hockey misses a lot.
I think that's true, to a point. But benching your best player, during his best game of the season (and the best of any player on the team)from a play driving perspective because of a turnover seems silly. Especially since the largest issue with this team is that they cannot generate 5v5 offense.
I would argue that ignoring everything that had happened in that game, the first game of the year where they truly dominated another team, shows that this coach has missed a lot more. He has zero ability to adjust from a tactical perspective other than to constantly shuffle the lines to an asinine level and has been shitting down his own leg since the 2022 playoffs in pressure situations. This team has been beyond mediocre for 50+ games under his watch and he has yet to make any meaningful adjustments to their forecheck, their in zone offensive strategy or their power play. All he does is change personnel. Morgan Geekie isn't fixing your power play, bro.
But he benched their best player for a turnover during a game where he played a huge part in erasing the other team when he was on the ice. It was an incredibly dumb move by an overmatched coach.
I would argue that ignoring everything that had happened in that game, the first game of the year where they truly dominated another team, shows that this coach has missed a lot more. He has zero ability to adjust from a tactical perspective other than to constantly shuffle the lines to an asinine level and has been shitting down his own leg since the 2022 playoffs in pressure situations. This team has been beyond mediocre for 50+ games under his watch and he has yet to make any meaningful adjustments to their forecheck, their in zone offensive strategy or their power play. All he does is change personnel. Morgan Geekie isn't fixing your power play, bro.
But he benched their best player for a turnover during a game where he played a huge part in erasing the other team when he was on the ice. It was an incredibly dumb move by an overmatched coach.
You're assuming it was the turnover and only that. You may be right. But in the parts of both games that I watched, he seemed disinclined to get the puck out of the corners as much as I'm used to seeing. I actually wondered if he was hurt. Combined with Montgomery's fly-by remark before the weekend, I thought there might be a connection.
Pasta basically said it was the turnover. He referenced it today.
I do think that one particular turnover was the straw that broke the camels back more than a singular bad play. Pasta's been a little off to start the year (as has about 16 of 19 skaters basically).
In some ways, I think Monty was looking for an opportunity to do soemthing like this. Not that he wanted to specifically bench Pasta but that he was looking for some new way to send a message to the team. He yelled at Marchand 2 weeks ago and nothing really happened. Pasta and that turnover happened to be the play that gave him the opportunity. They were up 2-0 and had given up like 7 shots through 2 periods. I know a 2-0 lead isn't huge but that game was well in hand and if Seattle scored quick he could put Pasta back in with nobody really noticing. Benching a star in a victory is can be more impactful that sitting a guy for the 3rd period when you're down 6-2 in Carolina.
He’s not going to move the needle much but he gives the 3rd line another option. Hopefully he can figure out a way to score on an empty net.
I worry the signing comes at the expense of Poitras or Brazz, who with Coyle are the ones playing best in the middle 6
I agree with the assessment and I'm hoping he comes at the expense of Geekie and not them as he's been pretty invisible. Also hopefully his signing spells the ends of Jones.
View: https://twitter.com/Johnston985/status/1853837408728707297
Says on line with Poitras and Frederic tonight.
He's a pending UFA and cheap. He also scores at 5x5 which is something teams will always look for. Add in that he can play center and wing and fights and I think he'd have a pretty good market. Tanner Jeanot was restricted so not exactly the same situation but similar and Tampa traded an entire draft for him.
I don't think the Bruins should be in the market for moving wingers at this point but there's a potential for a bit of a logjam. Lot's of 'if's' but if Brazeau and Koepke stick and Geekie gets on track and Tyler Johnson's corpse does something there might be an opportunity to get something for Freddy.
I don't think the Bruins should be in the market for moving wingers at this point but there's a potential for a bit of a logjam. Lot's of 'if's' but if Brazeau and Koepke stick and Geekie gets on track and Tyler Johnson's corpse does something there might be an opportunity to get something for Freddy.
That said, it's a conversation for March not November. The last Bruins in-season trade this early was Kobasew for Paille about 322513 years ago. Don doesn't trade outside of Draft/UFA week and the deadline.
Really glad that was the move to get Johnson on the team. Johnson isn't great or the answer to anything but Jones was just a net negative in everything so far IMO.
The post game interview last night has me singing with the Brady’s
View: https://youtu.be/IFzyk0h0Jyk?si=S3FUS-91PMOzycwK
View: https://youtu.be/IFzyk0h0Jyk?si=S3FUS-91PMOzycwK
It's time.
Worse yet, they are also 27th in xGF, so it's not even bad luck. That's what they are earning.
I agree that it’s time to fire Montgomery today, but I think that we’ll have to wait another week.
For as frustrating to watch as they are, they’re 3-1-1 in their last 5 and sit in a playoff spot as it stands this morning. Now we all know that’s fools gold and mostly a product of games played, but management would probably not want the perception around the league that they canned a coach before Thanksgiving that really wasn’t doing that poorly. It’s a bad look for future candidates.
Personally, I wouldn’t give a shit about that, but Neely & Sweeney might.
This week they have road games at St Louis and Dallas, then home on Saturday afternoon and Monday night against St Louis and Columbus. If they go something like 1-2-1 in those, I’d expect him gone on Tuesday. That gives them two full days to reorganize before a Thursday night home game against Utah.
For as frustrating to watch as they are, they’re 3-1-1 in their last 5 and sit in a playoff spot as it stands this morning. Now we all know that’s fools gold and mostly a product of games played, but management would probably not want the perception around the league that they canned a coach before Thanksgiving that really wasn’t doing that poorly. It’s a bad look for future candidates.
Personally, I wouldn’t give a shit about that, but Neely & Sweeney might.
This week they have road games at St Louis and Dallas, then home on Saturday afternoon and Monday night against St Louis and Columbus. If they go something like 1-2-1 in those, I’d expect him gone on Tuesday. That gives them two full days to reorganize before a Thursday night home game against Utah.
KPD, fwiw, says move #1 has to be getting McAvoy off PP#1. Both the rep and that stats says he doesn't/wont shoot. But I havent seen enough of the games to know if he's been bad overall on the PP.
Seems to me that Lohrei is the natural replacement, but whaddoIknow.
Seems to me that Lohrei is the natural replacement, but whaddoIknow.