With a points percentage below .500 and just barely making the playoffs with a 6-7-1 record, the Boston Bruins are failing to live up to the expectations that have been placed on them after a drastic offseason. After a weekend of back-to-back shutouts against the Philadelphia Flyers and Seattle Kraken, it looked like the Bruins were able to pull themselves out of the early-season funk and maybe even make a run. However, with a Shocking 4-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs Tuesday night, November 6, it appears Boston is back where it started: in trouble.

With one month of the season already over and the first week of November almost over, time is running out to flip the script and improve the current situation. As is often the case in the NHL, when a team is struggling, there is one thing that comes first as immediate improvement (sometimes). Fire the head coach.

Bruins injuries pile up

When you’re 18th in the NHL and just four points behind the 32nd-ranked Flyers, there will usually be more than one key issue plaguing a team. For the Bruins, these problems seem to get worse game after game. At the front, the score has become a real concern while the fourth trio, so electric at the start of the season, has as expected cooled down. They currently sit as the sixth-worst team in goals per game (GF/GP), largely fueled by their fourth-worst power play percentage of 13.3%. In their last eight games, they have been shut out three times (November 5 against Toronto, October 29 against Philadelphia and October 22 against Nashville) and have scored two goals or fewer in eight of their 14 games until here.

Offensively, it was a combination of lack of chances and terrible finishing that held the Bruins back. The team ranks 20th in the league for expected goals per 60 minutes (xGF/60), fifth last in scoring chances per 60 (25.71/60) and sixth last in high danger scoring chances per 60 (9.48/60). Additionally, the Bruins have the sixth-worst team shooting percentage at 5-on-5, shooting just over 7%, while averaging the fifth-fewest shots on goal per 60. For To sum it up, the Bruins aren’t generating enough chances and when they are, they can’t finish effectively.

For an offensive system that added a supposed first-line center in free agency, being this bad is something that can fall to the coaching staff. Boston lost Jake DeBrusk who brought some speed and inconsistent scoring, but players like Pavel Zacha, Trent Frederic and Charlie Coyle all saw a drastic drop in their shooting percentage and, as a result, combined for four goals and eight points as a trio in 14 matches. Not good enough.

Related: Pros and cons of trading Bruins Trent Frederic

Now defensively at 5v5, the Bruins are slightly better, but have seen their stats improve slightly due to back-to-back shutouts earlier this month. Boston ranks in the top half of the league in expected goals against per 60 (2.44/60), goals against per 60 (1.95/60), and high-danger scoring chances against per 60 (9.77/60). The problem with conceding goals lies in the penalty, where Boston has allowed a league-leading 15 shorthanded goals for a penalty percentage of 76.2% in 20th place.

After a horrible outing against Toronto where the Bruins played shorthanded seven times, Boston now ranks atop the NHL for most times shorthanded with 63, leading the second-place Maple Leafs by six. They also lead the league in total penalty minutes (175), penalty minutes per game played (12:30), penalties assessed (79) and minor penalties (74).

Finally, in the crease, the Bruins haven’t had their typical dominance that has been common throughout most of the 2010s and 2020s. Jeremy Swayman and Joonas Korpisalo both boast a .894 save percentage for a 88.47% combined team save percentage. Bruins goalies are fifth-worst in the league in high-danger save percentage, which is unusual for Swayman in particular. That said, both are coming off a shutout and in Swayman’s most recent loss to the Maple Leafs, he stopped every shot at even strength, only allowing goals on Toronto’s power plays.

The blame begins to fall on Jim Montgomery

Slow stretches of play happen to almost every team, with the possible exception of the record-breaking 2022-23 Bruins, but even they went through a rough patch that just happened to be in their playoff series against the Florida Panthers. It’s possible that Boston is going through a tough 15-game stretch, but when you’re at the start of a new season with no evidence that this team can perform well, it becomes a lot more concerning.

The biggest problem right now is being the most undisciplined team in hockey and that is quickly becoming a coaching problem. Players know not to commit minor stick infractions, but the Bruins tend to lose control of games and get lured into taking weak penalties. The loss of defensive structure also causes Boston to use its sticks more, leading to more calls for trips, hooks and cuts. The team tends to lose its energy and fast skating rhythm, especially when things get tough, which is linked to excessive stick work.

If you’ve watched a good portion of the Bruins’ games this season, you may notice that the team still seems sluggish and even disinterested at times. Their game resembles that of pre-season hockey, with less effort and hustle than one might expect. When Boston moves aggressively and buys time, they get chances and eventually goals. Against Toronto, they had moments of success that resulted in penalties, but the a horrible power play kept them from scoring – goes 0 for 6.

Players have to play, of course, but when players don’t have a certain drive, maybe a change in the locker room can bring it back. At the start of the season, trades are unlikely as teams are not ready to make bold decisions with under-20 games played. Boston also lacks assets that would entice teams to send help now, unless a first-round pick is included, which seems more unlikely given Boston’s lackluster prospect pool. All this forces the eyes to return to Jim Montgomery.

Is Jim Montgomery’s seat heating up in Boston? #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/ubpSM10B6V

– NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) November 2, 2024

The Bruins are behind, but not out

Before the season started, many fans and analysts believed that the Bruins were one of the top contenders in not only the Atlantic Division, but also the Eastern Conference as a whole. With the additions of Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov, the Bruins have filled needs in the center position and size department. However, through fourteen games, these additions have not helped the team, as Boston’s defensive structure has been sorely lacking along with a terrible offensive system that keeps the Bruins below .500 in the standings.

Fortunately for Boston, the rest of their divisional opponents aren’t off to a hot start either, as the Maple Leafs, who just defeated the Bruins, are only three points ahead – yet sit in second place in the the division. Only two teams have a worse points percentage than Boston (the Buffalo Sabers and Montreal Canadiens) and two other teams (the Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings) are playing exactly .500 hockey so far. Even though Boston’s play is far from living up to its potential, they are still within reach of catching up to their foes.

As mentioned previously, acting in early November is risky. This may be a slight hurdle that Boston is able to get around, but it needs to be sooner rather than later. Just as the Bruins could potentially come out of this rough patch, the same may be true for the aforementioned teams in the Atlantic Division. Embarking on a major change, such as firing a head coach who has led the team to a 118-39-21 record since taking over, including a victory in the Jack Adams Trophy awarded to the league’s top coach, may very well backfire, but it’s most definitely officially on the table.

Montgomery does not have a contract extension beyond this season, but general manager Don Sweeney had discussions with him about a. Will the Bruins give him a chance to get out of this slump and potentially let him walk when the offseason rolls around? Maybe, but they want to contend this season and Montgomery must now be on the hot seat on a very short leash to turn things around, or there could very well be a new bench boss in Boston by 2025.