"He's got a short memory. It's funny, [Tuesday] was the perfect example," Montgomery recalled. "I saw him, and I said, 'Do you see those scoring chances?' His scoring chances for are high and his scoring chances against are high…he said, 'Do you see how many chances I have though?' Like, he has a short memory. He's not a glass half full - it's full."
That type of approach has helped Clifton thrive early on in the 2022-23 campaign. The 27-year-old has seized the opportunity that's been presented by a barrage of injuries to Boston's back end over the opening six weeks of the season. The Bruins have been without Charlie McAvoy, Matt Grzelcyk, Brandon Carlo, and Derek Forbort for extended periods of time, leaving plenty of minutes for Clifton to take advantage of.
"I think we all stepped up, honestly," said Clifton, who ranks third on the Bruins in average time on ice per game (21:18) behind Hampus Lindholm (24:21) and McAvoy (21:23). "We were missing a lot of big pieces, especially to start the year. Good for us stepping up. We always talk about how we do it collectively. Not one guy is gonna pick up all Chuck's minutes but as a group of six we pick up some here or there and we did great."
Clifton formed a stout pairing with Forbort early in the season before Forbort was sidelined by surgery to repair his right middle finger on Nov. 3. That led to Clifton earning a promotion to play alongside Lindholm - who has been among the best defensemen in the NHL so far this season - a spot that he has remained in even after the return of McAvoy last week.
"I think the most underrated part of Cliffy's game is his hockey sense," said Montgomery. "He see's the ice really well. Good hockey players know what they're going to do with the puck before they get it, and he does. So, that allows Lindholm to play aggressively offensively and defensively because he knows his partner is going to be reading the game similar to him."