LDN - Sports

Avalanche continue to dominate Bruins in Boston

[December 09, 2016] BOSTON -- Nate MacKinnon was 2 1/2 years old the last time the Colorado Avalanche lost a hockey game at TD Garden.

On Thursday night, MacKinnon scored a short-handed goal to help the Avalanche end a six-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory over the Boston Bruins.

Colorado hasn't lost in Boston since 1998.

"I had no idea," MacKinnon said after the Avalanche, who came in with an NHL-worst 19 points, improved to 10-0 plus one tie in the 11 games since their last road loss to the Bruins. "I know we've been hot here my first three years. I did not know that stat. That's cool."

Jarome Iginla, who was in the league when Avalanche goaltender Patrick Roy lost 4-1 to the Bruins on March 30, 1998 -- Anson Carter scoring two goals -- laughed when he heard MacKinnon asked if he knew he was a toddler the last time Colorado fell in Boston.

"Really? That's funny," Iginla said.

Told it was Roy, who stepped down as the Avalanche's coach after last season, who was in goal for that game, MacKinnon said, "Oh yeah? Nice."

MacKinnon added: "We only come here once a year (now). I'm sure if we came here more, they'd get ready and end it, but once a year you don't really think about it as much -- but we're happy to get the win."

The Avalanche came in 0-5-1 in their previous six games but handed the Bruins their second loss in as many nights.

After Matt Duchene scored his 10th goal of the season -- all on the road -- MacKinnon made it 2-0 with his seventh, the team's second short-handed goal of the season.

While MacKinnon said it was "a long time" since his team scored the first goal, Iginla said, "We had a good start. We knew they were coming off playing last night and we were needing to come out with a lot of energy, and I think we did that."

A John Mitchell goal (his first) made it 3-0 (all three goals unassisted) before the sizzling Boston's David Pastrnak scored his 17th and 18th goals of the season --leaving him tied with Sidney Crosby for the league lead -- by beating Calvin Pickard 80 seconds apart. Colorado's Carl Soderberg beat Anton Khudobin to answer that goal.

"You could tell they were tired of losing," Bruins coach Claude Julien said of the Avalanche.

Pickard made 29 saves to raise his record to 5-2-1. Colorado's No. 1 starter, Semyon Varlamov, is 5-12-0.

Khudobin made 17 stops but fell to 1-4-0. The Bruins (15-11-2) are 1-7-0 in games not started by Tuukka Rask, who shut out the Avalanche 2-0 on Nov. 13.

"Had we been smarter from the get-go, we would have had a chance," Julien said.

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Avalanche goalie Calvin Pickard (31) celebrates with left wing Cody McLeod (55) after defeating the Boston Bruins 4-2 at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Pastrnak has 18 goals in 23 games and five in the past three. He is 11 goals ahead of anyone else on the team.

Iginla was impressed with Pastrnak and linemates Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.

"They had a good chemistry," the former Bruin said. "All three of those guys create a lot, they're dangerous players. They can all shoot the puck, move the puck.

"You play with Bergeron, you don't play in your own zone too often."

Duchene opened the scoring during a four-on-four situation, the Bruins giving him too much time to get control of the puck in front of the net before he beat Khudobin 5:30 into the game. Later in the period, MacKinnon cashed in off a crazy play.

The Bruins, who allowed their fourth short-handed goal of the season, were on the power play when Boston's Torey Krug was hit with a pass that left him awkwardly trying to keep the puck in the Colorado zone. He kept the puck on the line but fell, allowing MacKinnon to pick up the puck and sail in alone for the short-handed goal at 12:57.

Mitchell scored his first goal in 28 games dating to last season when he beat Khudobin from a bad angle 4:09 into the second period.

NOTES: Colorado LW Gabriel Landeskog, hoping to return from a lower body injury, was slowed by illness and missed his 10th consecutive game. ... The Bruins' 11-game home winless streak against the Avalanche is two games longer than their 0-7-2 home drought against the Montreal Canadiens. ... Colorado RW Jarome Iginla played in his 1,499th game and is gunning for his 12th 82-game season out of his 20 in the NHL. ... Colorado C Carl Soderberg has the second-longest active games-played streak in the NHL at 194 with Iginla third at 188. Florida D Keith Yandle extended his streak to 579 on Thursday. ... The entire Bruins team will go on a holiday shopping spree for charity Friday. ... The Avalanche cap their four-game road trip at Montreal and Toronto on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, while the Bruins host the Maple Leafs on Sunday and visit Montreal on Monday.

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