Bruins HC blasts players, says they're not 'ready for the playoffs'

Though the Bruins (41-16-15) are tied atop the Atlantic division with the Florida Panthers (46-20-5) and are coasting toward their eighth straight trip to the playoffs, they've shown some vulnerabilities this season.

Boston enters the week ninth in scoring (241 goals) and seventh in goals against (200), which is good for a +41 goal differential (ninth). Being a top-10 team in all three categories is impressive but ranking closer to 10th in all three rather than inside the top-five could mean another finish just shy of the Stanley Cup later in the spring.

Since their last championship in 2011, the Bruins have put together some of the best regular seasons in NHL history, only to come up short in the tournament.

Boston fell to the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals in six games, seeing a 2-1 lead in the final contest disappear in the last 76 seconds of the contest.

The Bruins led the league in points (117) in the 2013-14 campaign but were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs. They made it back to the Stanely Cup Finals in 2019, but despite holding a 2-1 series edge, fell to the St. Louis Blues in seven games.

Boston again won the Presidents' Trophy for the most regular season points in the NHL during the pandemic-altered 2019-2020 season but were knocked out in the second round of the playoffs.

The most recent, and stunning playoff elimination happened last spring during Montgomery's first year at the helm.

After setting an NHL record with 65 wins and 135 points in the 2022-23 season, the Bruins took on the Panthers in the first round.

They held a seemingly insurmountable 3-1 series lead going into Game 5, before suffering an overtime loss and then a 7-5 defeat in Game 6.

On its home ice, Boston was down 2-0 in Game 7 before scoring three straight goals. Florida then tied it late in the third period and stunned the Bruins in overtime for a 4-3 victory.