Jim Montgomery took a page from Bill Belichick’s playbook ahead of Game 7 win

For the second season in a row under Bruins coach Jim Montgomery, Boston was heading into a Game 7 in Round 1 after blowing a 3-1 series lead.

This time, to avoid the same fate as the Game 7 loss to Florida last year, Montgomery decided to try something different in an effort to get the team locked in before their most important game thus far. He thought back to some words of wisdom he’d heard from former Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

“The thinking was, we’re like 2-5 in the playoffs in the last two years at home,” Montgomery said. “So, what’s going to allow us to eliminate the noise? Learning from other coaches, like when I went to the Patriots’ spring camp and I see that ‘Eliminate the outside noise’ is the one thing that Belichick preached all the time, it’s something that’s stuck with me and it’s something I’ve been preaching as the playoffs were near: you’ve got to eliminate the outside noise.”

“You’ve got to be able to narrow your focus and I thought that us going to a hotel room and us coming to this rink today where we were going to play was something that would change the mental level,” Montgomery said, also referencing the fact that the team moved its Saturday morning skate to TD Garden from its usual location at Warrior Ice Arena in Brighton.

Belichick, like many other coaches, has implemented the strategy of staying at a hotel before a home game to affect players’ mindsets.

“I don’t know if it helped or not, but I think that the group was ready. So we might stay in hotel rooms more,” Montgomery joked.

With the success the Bruins had after their hotel stay before Game 7 against Toronto, Montgomery may want to use it again as the playoffs continue.