Jim Montgomery thrills Bruins fans with big reveal ahead of home opener

Bruins fans had Thursday night circled on their calendars for a while.

Two days after the start of the 2024-25 regular season in Florida, Boston will play its home opener in front of what is expected to be a raucous TD Garden crowd. The decibels could be increased again thanks to the opposing bench, where the rival Montreal Canadiens will be based one evening after an impressive victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

But speaking to reporters about seven hours before puck drop on Causeway Street, Jim Montgomery gave Bruins fans another reason to be excited about the Original Six game.

The head coach was asked about any lineup changes following his team's loss to the Panthers, and the changes included Parker Wotherspoon and Riley Tufte replacing their suits with sweaters. The most notable change, however, was that Jeremy Swayman was added to the lineup for his season debut.

Swayman was forced to sit out Tuesday's clash at Amerant Bank Arena after agreeing to a new contract, negotiations with which prevented the goalie from being with Boston during the preseason. But comments Montgomery made about Swayman in advance of the game against the reigning Stanley Cup champions suggested his No. 1 goaltender wasn't terribly rusty despite an unusual summer and early fall. And indeed, the 25-year-old will be between the pipes in the Bruins' second showdown of the season.

NESN will have full coverage of the Montreal-Boston collision starting at 6 p.m. ET.