A day after offering very little about why Johnny Beecher played just 6:18 in the Bruins’ overtime win over the Flames on Thursday, Jim Montgomery had a meeting with the second year forward.
After practice the Bruins coach talked about what he wanted from his fourth line winger going forward.
“I want to get back to where he was. Johnny Beecher and I had a good meeting today. We talked about where I thought his game fell off,” Montgomery said. “What I like about Johnny Beecher right now is he’s a much more mature young man. He knows his game. He knows how he needs to play to help the Bruins and have an impact every night. I expected him full throttle tomorrow night to be playing the way he has been playing. He’s been really good for us this year.”
Beecher and the entire fourth line were a bright spot early in the season, adding offense to their effective checking game. Beecher was playing between 11 and 16 minutes per night before Thursday. Beecher played five shifts in the first period against Calgary, three in the second and then after being on the ice for an early penalty kill in the third, Beecher didn’t return.
Montgomery respected the way Beecher handled it.
“The growth he has shown as a young man has been really impressive this year, just the way he’s come as a second year pro,” he said.
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