A night of sleep didn't stop Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery from being upset over his team's 2-1 overtime loss in Game 5 against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.
"I'm still pissed off from last night, to be honest," Montgomery told reporters Wednesday, per WBZ's Dan Roche. "I don't understand or accept our play from last night ... So I'm gonna be pissed off until puck drop tomorrow night."
The Maple Leafs came out of the gate with their hair on fire, controlling 76.4% of the expected goals while outshooting the Bruins 11-2 in the first period. Boston played much better in the second and third periods before Matthew Knies ended it 2:26 into the extra frame.
"Our crowd is unbelievable, so you'd think that would get us off to a great start, but it didn't," Montgomery said.
Montgomery made a pair of polarizing lineup changes before Game 5, swapping out John Beecher and Kevin Shattenkirk for Justin Brazeau and Matt Grzelcyk. The coach wouldn't confirm any changes for Thursday's Game 6.
The Bruins, who now hold a 3-2 series lead, had a chance to close out the Leafs on Tuesday but will now head back to Toronto for Game 6. Boston won Games 3 and 4 at Scotiabank Arena, and Montgomery said playing on the road has its advantages in the postseason.
"It's so much easier to eliminate outside noise when you're on the road," the reigning Jack Adams Award winner said. "These guys are watching other playoff games together, they're going for meals together, we have team meals together, so it's a little easier to stay dialed in. And you're talking hockey a lot."
The Bruins led the Florida Panthers 3-1 in Round 1 a year ago before losing three straight games to be eliminated.
