Bruins’ Matthew Poitras Recognizes Need To Earn Trust Late In Games

oston Bruins fans on social media have voiced their displeasure with the way head coach Jim Montgomery handled the playing time of rookie forward Matthew Poitras.

While the 19-year-old has appeared in 25 of Boston’s 26 games, Montgomery has shortened the bench late in close games to maximize the Bruins’ chances of winning the contest, and Poitras, more often than not, finds himself as one of the forwards with less ice time.

In the Bruins’ tilt with the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday, Poitras didn’t skate a single shift in the final 20 minutes of the game and Montgomery explained that the young center still needed to learn to the value of game management.

The Bruins won the gritty battle against the red-hot Coyotes, and Poitras gained valuable insight into Montgomery’s rationale during a meeting before the team’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena on Monday.

“Taking shorter shifts, just kind of simplifying my game,” Poitras said, per the team. “I’ve always been kinda the guy who likes to make plays offensively and maybe take a few risks, but there’s a time and place. I think as it gets later into a game, if I want the coaches to trust me and put me out there, I got to be able to simplify my game and put pucks in when it’s needed when we have a lead late.”

Poitras is not only still adapting to the NHL schedule but also the intensity of the games themselves after playing the last two seasons for the Guelph Storm in the Ontario Hockey League.