Montgomery: Bruins star Patrice Bergeron is ‘best captain in sports’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
You won’t find too many players across all sports who are more respected than Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron.
His blend of elite performance, sportsmanship and leadership make him a phenomenal player and captain.
Jim Montgomery is in his first season as Bruins head coach, but he’s been around the sport of hockey at various levels for decades.
Crosby, Ovechkin, other NHL stars congratulate Bergeron on scoring 1,000 points
He is quite impressed with the leadership group the Bruins have developed in their locker room over the years, and he thinks this core helps the team navigate the ups and downs of a grueling 82-game regular season.
“We have great leaders. It’s that simple,” Montgomery told reporters after Tuesday’s practice in Florida. “It’s such a luxury to not have to go in and warn the team about, ‘let’s not worry, let’s not get caught up, let’s not read the press clippings.’
“Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, David Krejci, Charlie McAvoy, it goes on and on, Nick Foligno. There’s an army of leaders in there, and I’ve said this before, we have the best captain in sports in my opinion.”
The Bruins’ leadership was on full display in Monday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Lightning absolutely dominated the Bruins over the first 10 minutes, jumping out to a 9-0 advantage in shots on net and scoring first. It looked like the B’s were headed to a defeat and possibly an ugly one, but the leadership group took charge and led the way.
Four of the leaders Montgomery referenced above — Krejci, Marchand, Foligno and Pastrnak — all scored as the Bruins bounced back and opened up a 5-1 advantage before hanging on for a 5-3 win to improve their record to a league-best 17-2-0.
There are a lot of reasons why the Bruins have started the 2022-23 season in historic fashion, and their excellent leadership group is near the top of the list.
