Bruins after dark

Two games in. Two losses.

And it’s already feeling like crunch time in St. Louis.

The Blues are down 0-2 in their series against the Winnipeg Jets, and Jim Montgomery isn’t in the mood to pretend everything’s fine.

You could see it in his expression after Game 2, tight-lipped, visibly drained, and done with the usual coach-speak.

This isn’t the time for sugarcoating, and Montgomery made that crystal clear.

It’s been a strange year for him.

Not long ago, he was running the show in Boston.

Then, out of nowhere, he was fired. No press conference. No real answers.

The Bruins moved on early in the season, and fans still don’t really know why.

So, he went west. St. Louis gave him a second shot, and for a while, things looked great.

The team was playing hard, the locker room was dialed in, and by the time the playoffs rolled around, they looked like a group no one wanted to face.

Now? Things have shifted and fast.

Winnipeg made one more play than us. Both games. Shots are dead even. So, they’re just making one more play and their best players are making them

Montgomery didn’t dance around it.

There’s not a huge gap in the stat sheet.

It’s the little things—the timely plays, the sharp execution—that Winnipeg is nailing and St. Louis isn’t.

And in the playoffs, that’s what separates a win from a missed opportunity.

He wasn’t calling out effort. The work rate is there. What’s missing, he says, are those small but critical moments where details fall through the cracks.

“I thought we had good puck pressure on the play up top and I think that play should be killed behind the net by us.”

That’s a coach breaking it down in real time, frustrated, yes, but locked in on what needs fixing.

These aren’t abstract ideas; they’re tactical slip-ups, and Montgomery knows they’re the difference-makers.

“Obviously they’re getting a couple of extra goals in the third. I don’t know, other than that, just continue to make sure we push as a group all three periods.”

“That’s the biggest thing, putting together 60 full ones.”

He’s not giving up.

That’s never been his style.

But there’s urgency now.

He’s pushing for a full-team response, and there’s not much time left to find one.

And while all this unfolds in St. Louis, the chatter in Boston hasn’t really stopped. His firing still doesn’t sit right with a lot of fans, especially with the Bruins now on the hunt for a new bench boss.

The timing, the silence, it’s all still a bit weird.

Meanwhile, Montgomery’s just trying to keep this series alive.

Can he pull it off? Maybe.

Will he go down without swinging? Not a chance.

Game 3 isn’t just another playoff matchup. It’s a turning point. One game to shift the energy, rewrite the narrative, and prove this team—and this coach—still have something to say.