Boston's bench boss chose not to dwell on what's happened across the first six games of the Bruins' first-round series against the Florida Panthers, but instead embrace the opportunity in front of the Black & Gold on Sunday night at TD Garden.
"I woke up this morning and the first thing that came to my mind is, 'Wow, I get a chance to coach a Game 7 at home. What a great opportunity,'" Montgomery said during a press conference at Hanscom Air Force Base on Saturday afternoon upon the Bruins' arrival from Florida.
"Opportunity, that's the word that comes to my mind. You're playing in a Game 7 at home. We had the regular season that we had - that's over and done with - but it got us this Game 7 to play in front of our great fans. It's an opportunity to go and seize the moment."
Montgomery made sure to impart that message on the players during the team's flight home on Saturday morning.
"It's a great opportunity. Very exciting opportunity," said Brandon Carlo. "Today on the plane, Monty came back and talked to us a little bit and had us envision when we were playing mini hockey or street hockey as kids. It always resulted in a Game 7 throughout those little series. You want to take the same approach and just be excited about it and look at it as a great opportunity and that's what we're going to do."
Patrice Bergeron is set to suit up for his 14th career Game 7 - which would tie former Bruins captain Zdeno Chara for the most all-time - and said that Boston must also embrace the gravity of their record-setting season being on the line.
"You've got to welcome pressure," said Bergeron. "That's why we play the game. It's for those moments. I don't think that should be an issue. You have to use that to your advantage and go out there and just play.
"Stay in the moment. Going back to our structure. We've talked about the process all year. All those things are things we need to focus on right now and really put emphasis on. To me, it's play with structure and layers, we're a tough team to play against."
And while they have lost two of three games on home ice during this series, the Bruins know how important it will be to be playing Game 7 on Causeway Street.
"It's just a result of the work you've put in all year," said Carlo. "I think as long as we just come in and continue to focus along our process and do the right things that we have been doing for most of the year, the result will come in itself. It's an exciting time. The nerves pick up a little bit and I think you have to relish that rather than be scared of it.
"We've done a good job this whole year to give us home ice advantage and that will definitely be a big key to all of this. Having the game at the Garden and the crowd on our side will be a lot of fun, something I look forward to. Everybody in our group does too."
Montgomery said he has not yet made a decision on whether Linus Ullmark or Jeremy Swayman will start in goal for Game 7."No, we're gonna meet [Sunday] morning and we'll finalize all that," said Montgomery.
Should Swayman, who has only played about four minutes in the series, get the call, Montgomery said he would have "no reservations at all" about the young netminder - who he called "the most confident individual that I know" - having not played significant minutes through the first six games, while adding that he has "no regrets" about any of the goaltending decisions so far.
"Nothing good happens if you live with regret," said Montgomery. "If you make a mistake, you admit it and you move on. That's how you move on from regret. But I don't regret the decisions that we've made as a staff or that I've made personally for lineup decisions and who's been in nets."
If Montgomery decides to go with Swayman, he said it would be because "Linus didn't make enough stops [in Game 6], that would be the reason to make a switch…plain and simple."
- Montgomery on the Bruins' penchant for making mistakes during the series: "It's the playoffs and everything is magnified. We preach about staying in the moment and for the majority of this season, the majority of this series, we've been able to do it. But there's time where I think for whatever reason, whether it's coaching decision, save selection, a puck decision, or it's a defensive decision, guys have not stayed in the moment. I think they've worried about making mistakes. I always think safety is death. Now we're looking forward to what lies ahead of us."
- Carlo on the Bruins shoring up their defensive game after surrendering 11 goals over the past two games: "Within our game, as long as we play the right way through the neutral zone, especially, getting pucks behind them, as well as just containing the net front. They do a good job at the net front, there's no secret within that that the battle hard there. We've just got to buy in a little harder there and hopefully clear out space so our goalies can see it."
- Montgomery on the Bruins viewing Game 7 as a chance to extend the careers of Bergeron and David Krejci: "No, no…if someone's thinking about this is Bergy's last game or this is Krech's last game, their mind is in the future and that's no good for us. The players just got to dig into what makes them a special Bruin. We'll be fine."
That historic run, however, is now long over.
After taking a 3-1 series lead, the Bruins have been pushed to the edge by the upset-minded Florida Panthers in an Eastern Conference opening-round series.
It will be a win-or-go-home scenario in Sunday night's Game 7 at Boston after the Panthers have won back-to-back games, including a 7-5 victory Friday at Sunrise, Fla.
"We're learning in the playoffs that it's a different animal," Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. "It just is."
Montgomery believes that many of the mistakes that have doomed Boston in the series are correctable, pointing to some unstructured defensive play in front of goaltender Linus Ullmark, who has started every playoff game after rotating with Jeremy Swayman almost evenly since mid-December.
But there is no more time for learning. The Bruins are the first league-leading team to be taken to a first-round Game 7 since 2011 when the Vancouver Canucks beat the Chicago Blackhawks on their way to facing Boston in the Stanley Cup Final.
"They beat us to our net, they hemmed us in, and we didn't protect our net front like we usually do," Montgomery said of Friday's third period.
David Pastrnak and Tyler Bertuzzi each scored twice for the Bruins, but Florida scored four third-period goals to win, including the last three unanswered after Jake DeBrusk's shorthanded break gave Boston a 5-4 lead.
While fans have called for Swayman to start Sunday, the Bruins' dressing room has full confidence with Ullmark in goal after he won a career-high and NHL-best 40 games during the regular season.
As of Saturday, though, no decision had been made as to who will start in goal for Boston.
"(Ullmark is) the reason why we've had so much success this year," DeBrusk said. "It's not even a question with us, to be honest."
The Panthers also scored once in the third (Sam Reinhart) and once in overtime (Matthew Tkachuk) to help win Wednesday's Game 5 at Boston.
"It shows the kind of heart and passion we have in this locker room," Panthers winger Anthony Duclair said. "There was not a single doubt in this locker room. We believed we (could) come back. Now we did, and we just have to finish the job."
In Game 6, Tkachuk (two goals, one assist) joined Carter Verhaeghe as the second Panther in as many games to log three points in an elimination game.
Tkachuk's five goals and five assists over the series lead the determined Panthers, but contributions have been received from up and down the lineup.
Among Friday's six goal scorers was Zac Dalpe, a 33-year-old who netted his first career playoff goal during the late onslaught.
Sergei Bobrovsky has started the last three games in Florida's net and will look to duplicate the success he had while leading Columbus to a historic 2019 sweep of Presidents' Trophy-winning Tampa Bay.
"This is the best part of the year -- when there's the most pressure on," Florida coach Paul Maurice said. "Game 7, the obvious elimination game. You have to be able to enjoy it. You have to find a way to enjoy it."
The Panthers had to play meaningful hockey for months just to clinch the wild-card playoff position.
"I think we're at our best when our backs are against the wall," Florida defenseman Radko Gudas said.
Five of Boston's 15 losses between the regular season and playoffs have come against Florida.
This time, though, it's now or never.
"You've got to welcome pressure. That's why we play the game," Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron said. "It's for those moments. I don't think that should be an issue. You have to use that to your advantage and go out there and just play."
