Trophy Tracker: Montgomery remains leader for Jack Adams as coach of year

To mark the three-quarters point of the 2022-23 regular season, NHL.com is running its third installment of the Trophy Tracker series this week. Today, we look at the race for the Jack Adams Award, given annually to the top coach in the NHL as selected in a vote by the NHL Broadcasters' Association.

It didn't take long for questions about Jim Montgomery and the 2022-23 Boston Bruins to be emphatically answered. A coach given a second chance after rebuilding his profile and a team projected in transition started 10-1-0 and 21-3-1, never looking back and convincing a panel of 15 NHL.com writers to select Montgomery the unanimous favorite at the three-quarter point of the season for the Jack Adams Award, given to the NHL coach of the year.
Montgomery received 75 voting points. Lindy Ruff of the New Jersey Devils was second (47), and Rod Brind'Armour of the Carolina Hurricanes third (21). The top five was rounded out by Dave Hakstol of the Seattle Kraken (16), and Don Granato (Buffalo Sabres) and Peter DeBoer (Dallas Stars) with 13 each.
The Bruins (49-8-5) are on a 10-game winning streak, their longest since a 12-0-0 run in 2013-14, and own a commanding lead in the Atlantic Division and for the Presidents' Trophy awarded to the team with the most points during the regular season. They're on pace for 65 wins and 136 points that would break NHL records shared by the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning, and owned by the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens, respectively. They're already in the record books as the fastest team in NHL history to reach 100 points in a season (61 games, one less than the 1976-77 Canadiens).
Time will tell if Boston can parlay what's been a season for the ages into its first Stanley Cup championship since 2011. What matters most is the present.
"For me personally, it doesn't mean that much," Montgomery said after a 7-1 win against the Sabres on March 2 got them to 100 points. "We try to stay in the moment, and we've been doing that. We started off (10-1-0), and I was like, 'Man, that's unreal,' and then you catch yourself and you go back into the moment, and we've probably gone 11-1 every 12 games to have the record we have. It's been really amazing to watch them want to be great, because with the schedule and everything, it's really impressive."
The Bruins have proven neither in transition nor too old. In fact, they're in that sweet spot between established young stars and veteran savvy. David Pastrnak, a 26-year-old forward, is second in the NHL with 44 goals. Linus Ullmark (32-4-1, 1.89 goals-against average, .938 save percentage, two shutouts) is the favorite for the Vezina Trophy as the best goalie in the League. Veteran forwards Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci remain at peak performance and are holdovers from the 2011 Stanley Cup-winning team.

Boston's goal differential is plus-106. Carolina is next at plus-57.
"It's just finding a way with this group, never panicking, no matter what happens, whether we're getting outplayed, outshot, whatever the case is," forward Charlie Coyle said after the run reached 10 with a 4-2 win against the New York Rangers on Saturday. "It's just sticking with it. There's no sense of panic. Everyone's calm. Everyone knows what the task is."
A record-setting pace and extended winning streaks haven't lulled the Bruins into complacency. They traded for forwards Tyler Bertuzzi and Garnet Hathaway, and defenseman Dmitry Orlov, and gave Pastrnak an eight-year, $90 million contract late in the final season before he could have become an unrestricted free agent. The new arrivals will be quick to learn about what's been working: elite goaltending, a shut-down defense and the ability to roll four lines.
The package continues to create new ways to win and build a season flirting with history.
"There's always a different hero and that's what's special about that locker room," Montgomery said after Boston defeated the Calgary Flames 4-3 in overtime March 1. "They kind of have a saying in the locker room: 'Never a doubt.'"
Voting totals (points awarded on a 5-4-3-2-1- basis):
Jim Montgomery, Bruins, 75 points (15 first-place votes); Lindy Ruff, Devils, 47; Rod Brind'Amour, Hurricanes, 21; Dave Hakstol, Seattle Kraken, 16; Don Granato, Buffalo Sabres, 13; Peter DeBoer, Stars, 13; Jared Bednar, Colorado Avalanche, 11; Rick Bowness, Winnipeg Jets, 9; Bruce Cassidy, Vegas Golden Knights, 9; Todd McLellan, Los Angeles Kings, 5; Sheldon Keefe, Toronto Maple Leafs, 3; Derek Lalonde, Detroit Red Wings, 2; Dean Evason, Minnesota Wild, 1.
NHL.com staff writer Amalie Benjamin contributed to this report