Is there a better time of year than the Stanley Cup Playoffs? The action on the ice is must-watch theater on a nightly basis, with excitement. This season, Boston Bruins fans are left to watch the postseason without the Black and Gold, but the last two head coaches under general manager Don Sweeney, Bruce Cassidy and Jim Montgomery, still have their teams playing.
Both Cassidy and Montgomery are outspoken coaches, and this time of the year, most postgame press conferences are great theater. That was the case on Wednesday night following the Winnipeg Jets’ 5-3 Game 5 victory over the St. Louis Blues that gave them a 3-2 series lead. After the game, Montgomery and Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel got into a spat, and Arniel put Montgomery on blast with a response.
Winning Jets coach Scott Arneil puts former Bruins coach Jim Montgomery on blast
In the first period, Winnipeg star Mark Scheifele took a pair of hits in the opening frame. The first one was delivered by Brayden Schenn, who received a penalty on the play. The second one was delivered by Radek Faska a few minutes later, and after that hit, Scheifele exited the game and never returned. The first hit by Schenn is one where there was some thought that NHL Player Safety would get involved, but they are not.
After the game, Montgomery, who was clearly defending his captain, Schenn, and was hoping to avoid the league getting involved and handing out a suspension. He wanted to clarify which hit injured Scheifele.
"Let's make it clear...No. 55 [Scheifele] got hurt from the Faksa hit," Montgomery said. "He played six minutes after the Schenn hit. He didn't come back after he got rocked by Faksa."
Arniel talked to the media after Montgomery and took a shot at him when asked about what the former Boston coach said.
“I didn’t know Monty had his medical degree…He’s way off base,” said Arniel.
Shots fired. You have the love the Stanley Cup Playoffs on the ice, but you have to enjoy it even more off the ice. Messages sent and messages received. This is a great time of the year to be a hockey fan for multiple reasons.