Tuukka Rask helps Bruins shut out Avalanche

DENVER -- Tuukka Rask made 20 saves and the Boston Bruins defeated the Colorado Avalanche 2-0 at Pepsi Center on Sunday.
The shutout was Rask's third of the season and 33rd of his NHL career. He played both games of a back-to-back for the first time this season, making 31 saves in a 2-1 win against the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday to begin a three-game road trip.
David Krejci had a goal and an assist for the Bruins (10-6-0), who have won three games in a row and are 7-2-0 in their past nine. Dominic Moore scored an empty-net goal with 27.2 seconds left in the third period.

"That's how you win a road game," said Rask, who is 10-1-0. "We said after the game, that's exactly how you want to play on the road. A pretty much mistake-free game, very proud of our effort. I can't recall any real breakdowns for us. We kept them on the outside and really limited their scoring chances and rushes.
"We kept the puck in the offensive zone and made some plays and created chances. We're going to be really happy with that. It was a tight game. We couldn't extend the lead, but that's all right. We sealed the deal at the end."
WATCH: All Bruins vs. Avalanche highlights
Semyon Varlamov made 43 saves for the Avalanche (6-8-0), who have been shut out four times this season.
"He was outstanding, the best player on the ice," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "We have to find a way to get some production for him. We need guys to get to the net and get pucks to the net. We're not doing it enough."

Varlamov was under siege in the second period when the Bruins had a 23-7 advantage in shots. He made three saves against Brad Marchand, the first one at 10:25 after a giveaway by Eric Gelinas. David Pastrnak passed across to Marchand for a shot that Varlamov kept out with his pad, and he gloved Marchand's rebound attempt at 18:03.
Boston had another six shots on a power play after Erik Johnson was penalized for interference at 18:21.
"It was definitely one of our good periods, but we've had some periods where we've been pretty good and spent some O-zone time," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "We've got to start getting rewarded for that kind of effort and that kind of dominance."
Krejci gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 9:30 of the first period when he beat Varlamov to the far side for his second goal.
"A little bit of a broken play," Krejci said. "I was flying wide and had good speed, kind of read the scouting report on that goalie and tried that shot and happy it worked."

Goal of the game

Ryan Spooner got the puck to David Backes, who slipped it to Krejci while putting a hit on Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie. Krejci had plenty of open ice before launching his shot.

Save of the game

Varlamov stopped Brandon Carlo on a breakaway after the defenseman exited the penalty box at 13:00 of the third.
"It's frustrating that we didn't win," Varlamov said. "It doesn't matter how you play. I'm not happy that we lost because we need the two points. That's the most important thing for us."

Highlight of the game

Rask made a save against Avalanche forward A.J. Greer at 11:57 of the third period during a goalmouth scramble. Greer tried to jam the puck behind Rask after taking a pass from Mikko Rantanen. The play was reviewed to ensure the puck didn't cross the goal line.

Unsung moment of the game

The Bruins were holding a 1-0 lead when Carlo was penalized for holding Rantanen at 10:54 of the third period. They limited Colorado to two shots on the power play.

They said it

"Just another great game, can't say enough about that guy. He's been great so far and keeping us in the game every single game. Sometimes we only need one or two goals to win the game." -- Bruins forward David Krejci on goalie Tuukku Rask
"We owe it to him [to score]. Our offense is not clicking, we need more goals, we need more guys stepping up. That starts with hard work and that's something you don't need skill to do." -- Avalanche forward Rene Bourque on goalie Semyon Varlamov
"I watched some games in this building growing up, so being across the ice from some of those guys is a pretty cool experience for me. Obviously they are guys I looked up to when I was younger." -- Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo, who is from Colorado Springs

Need to know

Avalanche center Matt Duchene, who didn't play because of concussion-like symptoms, is scheduled to skate Monday ... Colorado forward Jarome Iginla played in his 1,488th NHL game to move past Wayne Gretzky into sole possession of 18th place on the all-time list ... Greer, 19, made his NHL debut and had two shots in 16:34 of ice time ... The Bruins had a season-high 46 shots on goal.

What's next

Bruins: At the Minnesota Wild on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; FS-N, NESN, NHL.TV)
Avalanche: Home against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET; ALT, FS-W, NHL.TV)