Bruins fans had Thursday night circled on their calendars for quite a while.
Two days after kicking off its 2024-25 regular season in Florida, Boston is set to play its home opener in front of what should be a raucous TD Garden crowd. The decibels could be kicked up a notch thanks to the opposing bench, where the rival Montreal Canadiens will set up shop one night after an impressive win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
But speaking with reporters roughly seven hours before puck drop on Causeway Street, Jim Montgomery gave Bruins fans another reason to be juiced for the Original Six tilt.
The head coach was asked about any lineup changes on the heels of his team’s loss to the Panthers, and the tweaks included Parker Wotherspoon and Riley Tufte ditching suits for sweaters. The most noteworthy change, however, was Jeremy Swayman drawing into the lineup for his season debut.
Swayman sat out Tuesday’s clash at Amerant Bank Arena after finalizing a new contract, the negotiations of which prevented the goaltender from being with Boston for the preseason. But the remarks Montgomery made about Swayman in the lead-up to the matchup with the reigning Stanley Cup champions indicated his No. 1 netminder wasn’t very rusty despite an unusual summer and early fall. And sure enough, the 25-year-old will be in between the pipes for the Bruins’ second showdown of the season.
