Good to know: Bruins ready for inaugural visit to Utah

SALT LAKE CITY – Jim Montgomery is no stranger to Utah.

The Boston bench boss played for the Utah Grizzlies — then the Dallas Stars' AHL affiliate — for two seasons (2001-2003) and called Salt Lake City “one of the best places I've ever lived.”

“I liked it…aesthetically, with the mountains right above you. The weather is great and the people are really, really nice,” Montgomery said

However, the team that Montgomery leads is not as familiar with this city as Boston will play its first game against the Utah Hockey Club on Saturday evening.

The Bruins have been in town since early Thursday morning after flying in following their win over Colorado in their road trip opener, giving them plenty of time to soak up the excitement for hockey that's developing in town.

“We were all very impressed with how much people are talking about hockey and how excited they are,” Montgomery said after the morning skate at the Delta Center. “We noticed that there was a lot of activity and a lot of energy downtown, which is exciting for the league and for them.”

And there's a lot of black and gold in this hustle and bustle.

“I was surprised because I thought, 'This might be the only place where you don't see a lot of Bruins jerseys.' But (on Friday) I walked around downtown and saw a lot of Bruins hats and jerseys. Thank God for Bobby Orr,” Montgomery said with a laugh.

Utah is off to a strong 3-1-1 start in its first season and sits just one point behind Winnipeg and Dallas at the top of the Central Division despite dropping two straight – a 3-0 loss to New Jersey and a 5-4 overtime setback to Anaheim in their final game on Wednesday.

“Just their speed in transition is very noticeable,” Montgomery said. “They have three lines that can score. We just have to be really good at checking, we have to be really good at getting over pucks, so they have to get through us.”