Unless you haven’t been on social media in the previous 24 hours, you’ve probably noticed that Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery has become a viral GIF celebrity.
Mason Lohrei was called for hooking Florida Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen in the second period (12:25) of the Bruins’ gritty 2-1 Game 5 victory. Panthers forward Anton Lundell had already been suspended for embellishment, along with Morgan Geekie (cross-checking), yet the Panthers kept attempting to sell themselves into power plays, as Luostarinen demonstrated here:
LOHREI WAS PENALIZED FOR THIS?!?!?!!? pic.twitter.com/vGnYHYWaKN
— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) May 15, 2024
Montgomery was irritated by the Panthers’ incessant theatrics and proceeded to mock a diver while screaming at the officials.
lmfao pic.twitter.com/J4l8ws1KJa
— Marina Maher (@marinakmaher) May 15, 2024
Montgomery was questioned about his demonstrative behavior on the bench during his postgame news conference.
“Well, I just think the embellishments are going up,” Montgomery explained.
“Players are growing better at gripping their heads, snapping them back, being caught, following the hook, and springing back. When I was growing up, Billy Barber was the guy who was most known for it, and he received a lot of penalties as a result. And I believe it makes it difficult for the referees, you know? Because you never know if a guy is actually high-stuck or just waiting for a call.”
The Boston Bruins went on to kill the Lohrei penalty and keep their 2-1 advantage after Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy scored the eventual game-winner at 10:25 in the middle stanza. They would also kill two more power plays for the Panthers, one from McAvoy’s roughing penalty 1:23 into the third period and the sixth too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at 11:28 of the final frame. The penalty kill ended up going 0-for-3.
The Bruins will host the Florida Panthers in Game 6 on Friday.
