DENVER (AP) — Tuukka Rask stopped 21 shots and David Krejci scored in the first period, lifting the Boston Bruins over the Colorado Avalanche 2-0 on Sunday night.
Rask showed no signs of fatigue despite being in net for a second straight night. He made 31 saves in a 2-1 win over Arizona on Saturday. Rask got his 33rd career shutout and moved to 7-0 on the road this season.
Krejci scored his second goal of the season on a wrist shot midway through the first period.
The Avalanche pulled Semyon Varlamov with about a minute remaining but couldn’t generate much offense. Dominic Moore sealed it with an empty-net goal with 27.2 seconds remaining.
Varlamov was the hard-luck loser, stopping a season-high 43 shots.
An already struggling Avalanche offense was missing leading scorer Matt Duchene, who’s dealing with concussion-like symptoms stemming from a hit against Winnipeg on Friday. It was the fourth time Colorado has been shut out this season.
Boston didn’t commit a penalty until midway through the third period, when rookie defenseman Brandon Carlo was called for holding. Recent call-up A.J. Greer tried to wrap in a shot and then slid into the net with Rask. The officials took a quick look at the play on video to see if the puck crossed the line.
It didn’t.
Carlo then had a breakaway out of the penalty box, only to be thwarted by Varlamov.
Boston dominated the second period, outshooting the Avalanche by a 23-7 margin. The only thing keeping this from a blowout was Varlamov. Case in point: a sequence late in the period when Brad Marchand lined a shot that bounced off Varlamov’s left pad and back to Marchand. The Bruins left winger quickly lined another shot that Varlamov, who caught it with his glove.
Krejci got the best of Varlamov at 9:30 of the opening period off a pass from David Backes. The Bruins nearly added another with just under a minute left as a wide-open Austin Czarnik was fed the puck in front of the net. He wasn’t able to get enough power on the shot, and Varlamov stuck out his right pad to make the save.
NOTES: Boston improved to 1-2 in the second game of back-to-backs this season. … Carlo is from Colorado Springs and grew up a big Avalanche fan. … Avalanche LW Blake Comeau missed a fourth straight game with a groin injury. … Greer played in his first NHL game after being recalled from San Antonio of the American Hockey League.
UP NEXT
Bruins: At Minnesota on Thursday night to finish a three-game trip.
Avalanche: Host Los Angeles on Tuesday night to wrap up a four-game homestand.
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