BOSTON – If you thought the Flyers’ shutout of the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night was rock bottom, they fell even lower Thursday night in North Carolina. The Bruins were completely blown away by the Hurricanes on Halloween, 8-2, which will only make Jim Montgomery’s seat even hotter.

Boston’s head coach may soon find himself out of a job with the Bruins posting a disappointing 4-6-1 record this season. This is largely because Boston’s best players have significantly underperformed, but management can’t lay off the roster. So Montgomery is the one whose job is on the line.

Montgomery shook things up Thursday night in hopes of sparking Boston’s nonexistent offense. Fourth lines Johnny Beecher, Mark Kastelic and Cole Koepke all earned promotions to other lines, while the frontline duo of Elias Lindholm and David Pastrnak were split.

None of that mattered, as the Bruins once again looked disjointed and did almost nothing on offense. The lines no longer mattered after the team fell into an early hole in Raleigh. The Bruins couldn’t get away with it, which feels like an analogy for what’s to come for the rest of the season.

The Hurricanes scored three goals in less than a minute

The Bruins dealt with injuries throughout the game Thursday night, giving the Hurricanes five power plays. Carolina scored on three of them and the Canes scored their first goal in the first period on a delayed goalie interference call on Beecher.

Brad Marchand tied the score at 1-1 with his own power play goal in the first period, but it didn’t last long. Carolina took a 2-1 lead with Koepke in the box for interference, and 4-1 on a power play goal with Kastelic serving two minutes for high sticking.

The game quickly turned lopsided, as the Hurricanes scored three goals in 52 seconds late in the first period and took a 4-1 lead into the second period.

Bruins offense remains calm

The Bruins went scoreless at five-on-five in the first period Thursday night. They didn’t get a five-on-five shot until seven minutes into the second period, and at that point it was already 6-2 and Jeremy Swayman had been pulled from the net.

Overall, the Bruins were dominated 37-15 Thursday evening. They only managed nine shots in play at 5-on-5 and five shots on five power play opportunities.

Marchand’s first-period goal was only his second of the season. Lindholm notched an assist, ending a seven-game pointless streak for Boston’s big signing this offseason. Pastrnak had two assists that night and leads the team with 10 points, but he is minus-five this year.

The Bruins’ supporting cast doesn’t provide much support either. Charlie Coyle and Morgan Geekie both have just one point, while Pavel Zacha has three. Zacha only has one point in the last nine games. That’s better than top defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who went nine straight games without scoring a point.

The Bruins’ best players just don’t stand out early in the season. No one seems really comfortable on the ice and the chemistry is messy. This led to sloppy passes, blocked shots, and few scoring opportunities. Even Montgomery’s shakeup couldn’t give the team a spark Thursday night.

Bruins Power Play Remains Nonexistent

Marchand’s goal came with the Bruins down 5-on-3, but Boston’s power play was completely lifeless the rest of the way. The B’s went 1 for 5 on their power play chances Thursday night, putting just five shots on goal.

Boston has scored on just 14.9 percent of its power plays this season to rank 25th in the NHL.

Is Jim Montgomery’s job at stake?

“For the moment, we are not happy” Montgomery said after the lopsided defeat. “Nobody’s happy with what’s happening. But we’ll get through this. We’ll be better. Hopefully it creates a better outcome come playoff time.”

The playoffs — and Montgomery being there for the playoffs — no longer seem like guarantees for the Bruins.

The team’s struggles aren’t entirely on Montgomery. Boston’s forward depth is an issue, and Montgomery is missing a player or two in his top six. General manager Don Sweeney deserves his share of responsibility for these early season misfortunes.

But Montgomery is in the final seasons of his contract, and he clearly knows he’s currently coaching for his job. His line shuffle didn’t produce the expected results Thursday night, so he’ll have to try something else Saturday afternoon when the Bruins face the Flyers in Philadelphia.

If things don’t improve soon in Boston, Sweeney may be forced to make a change on the bench to try to save his team’s season.