Bruins' Brad Marchand responds to heated Jim Montgomery interaction
Yesterday at 02:05 PM
Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand drew the ire of his head coach during a 2-1 overtime loss to the Utah Hockey Club in Salt Lake City on Saturday night. Utah was trailing 1-0 in the third period before a Marchand turnover led to the tying goal, causing Jim Montgomery to lose it on one of his best players.
Although the goal ended up being called back for offside, it was still a costly turnover, drawing a fiery response from the bench boss. After the goal, along with tearing into Marchand, Montgomery also gave him a shove on the shoulder to help get the message across.
Michael Kesselring would end up winning the game for Utah in overtime, dropping the Bruins to 3-2-1 in the process. The clip of Montgomery laying in Marchand went viral this week, and Marchand he admitted he was “disappointed” that the incident gained traction on social media.
Jim Montgomery lighting into Brad Marchand on the Bruins bench after a turnover by the Bruins captain led to a short-loved Utah goal pic.twitter.com/EBjQeJr1gl
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) October 20, 2024
“People are very sensitive these days, it’s unfortunate how coaches are scrutinized over things like that,” Marchand told reporters ahead of a clash with the Dallas Stars on Thursday, per Boston.com’s Conor Ryan. “There’s a lack of accountability nowadays because people can’t handle the heat. You make a mistake like that, you deserve to hear about it.”
The captain continued: “I’m glad that he said something about it. If he didn’t, we would have a much bigger issue. The fact that’s something that we’re talking about is disappointing, but that’s the way things are today. There’s an accountability that needs to be held in this room. I made a really bad mistake in a bad time in the game. That’s something that’s not acceptable and I shouldn’t have done to begin with. I should be held accountable in that situation.”
Brad Marchand on the reaction of Montgomery ripping into him:
"It's unfortunate how coaches are scrutinized over things like that. There's a lack of unaccountability nowadays because people can't handle the heat. You make a mistake like that, you deserve to hear about it." pic.twitter.com/79Ga9YMflC
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) October 24, 2024
Brad Marchand, Bruins off to a tough start in 2024-25
Boston is off to a tough start, and so is Marchand — the 36-year-old has managed just four assists in seven games. Montgomery also addressed the interaction with Marchand to reporters on Thursday.
“Between Marshy and I, there doesn't need to be a conversation," Montgomery said , per Ryan. "Him and I are both emotional people. I'm not ecstatic with myself about it, but I don't think about it afterwards, and neither does he. He's a pro. He's a great player that does so many good things for us, and he has high expectations as well. So for us, that's over and done with."
Montgomery hasn’t been hesitant to call out his star players over the last year, doing the same to David Pastrnak ahead of Game 7 against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Round 1 back in April. The Czech superstar ended up scoring the overtime game-winning goal to win the series.
Still, the Bruins need to turn things around, and Marchand probably knows he needs to be better. The squad will look to get back on the right track against the Stars at TD Garden on Thursday.
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