Head coach of the Boston Bruins Jim Montgomery has had enough of opponents using alternative captain David Pastrnak and captain Brad Marchand arbitrarily.
Following the Boston Bruins’ 5-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings to end the 2023 season, Montgomery voiced his unprompted criticism of league officials for allowing rival teams, including the Red Wings, to target Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak with infractions that ought to be penalized.
After starting to respond to a query about Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman—who improved to 11-2-4 on the season with the victory over the Red Wings on Sunday—from Boston Globe reporter Kevin Paul Dupont, Montgomery continued, “I do think though that there was a gameplan to go after Pastrnak and Marchand.”
Montgomery, meanwhile, is displeased with the officials’ lack of protection not just for his players but for all NHL stars. In addition, he brought up the mistreatment that three-time Hart Trophy winner and forward for the Edmonton Oilers, Connor McDavid, has had.
Montgomery stated, “I do believe that we need to protect the stars in our game.” “I think the league needs to pay attention when players are being cross-checked and other things happen after whistles.” We’ve observed it with [Connor] McDavid for a number of years. He scored a lot of points last season, but in the previous years, they let opponents trample him in the postseason. This league is all about great skill, so you don’t want to take away players like McDavid, Pastrnak, or Marchand.
Montgomery blamed the brawl that followed the Boston Bruins forward Morgan Geekie’s punch against Red Wings defenseman Ben Chiarot at 11:23 into the first period on the officials’ failure to uphold the standards set for players such as Pastrnak.