The Mile High City is hard to overcome — just ask the Boston Bruins.
Boston jumped out to a 3-1 lead over the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night at Pepsi Center, but they couldn’t hold off the surging Avs.
After Zdeno Chara left the game after the first period with a lower body injury, the B’s defensemen were tasked with playing heavy minutes against a talented Colorado team. It was an almost impossible task, and eventually, Colorado took control of the game.
The Avs scored one in the second period and four in the third to earn a 6-3 win as Boston started its road trip with a disappointing loss.
With the loss, the Bruins fall to 10-6-2, while the Avalanche improve to 9-6-3.
Here’s how it all went down:
AVS STRIKE FIRST
The Avs got on the board shortly at the 10:16 mark in the period. With the puck behind the Boston net, Chara tried to clear it but Mikko Rantanen intercepted it. The winger slipped the puck to Gabriel Landeskog who buried a wrister past Jaroslav Halak.
B’S SURGE
The Bruins continued their onslaught in the first period and it finally paid off at 16:43.
Mark Barberio was sent to the box for a cross-check on David Backes and Boston took full advantage of the power play. David Krejci threaded a pass to David Pastrnak who was camped in front of the net and redirected the puck past Avs netminder Semyon Varlamov.
Boston took the lead not long after. After the Avs turned the puck over near their blue line, Jake DeBrusk scooped the puck up and flew down the ice, deking Varlamov before putting home his sixth goal of the season.
BAD NEWS
During the end of the first period, Chara went to check Carl Soderberg against the boards but his left knee flexed inward upon contact. The B’s captain was in obvious pain after the play. He did not return to the game after the first period.
TAKING ADVANTAGE
Where Boston had difficulty getting the puck past Varlamov at full strength, the power play was a different story.
Avs right winger Colin Wilson went to the box for hooking at the one 1:17 mark in the second period and DeBrusk tipped home a Pastrnak shot at 3:05 to give Boston a 3-1 lead.
Just as the Bruins made the power play pay off, the Avs did the same at 8:47 when Rantanen smoked one past Halak after Pastrnak was sent to the box for hooking.
Colorado outshot the Bruins 7-4 in the second period, but Boston was able to escape with a 3-2 lead heading into the third.
EVEN STEVEN
Colorado’s aggressiveness finally paid off early in the third period when the Avs converted on a two-on-one. Matt Calvert launched a shot that Halak was able to stop. The puck took a funny bounce off Halak, though, and Calvert was able to stop, spin and sweep the puck past the B’s netminder to tie the game at 2:11 in the third. After a closer look, Calvert got a little help from B’s defenseman Steven Kampfer as the puck ricocheted off his skate and into the goal.
AVS LEAD
Colorado’s surge continued as the third period wore on, and the Avs eventually took the lead at the 9:02 mark in the period.
Rantanen gathered the puck in the defensive zone and flew through the neutral zone to create a three-on-two. After crossing into the offensive zone, Rantanen shuffled the puck to Nathan MacKinnon who torched one past Halak.
Tyson Jost and Alexander Kerfoot added tallies to give Colorado a 6-3 lead.
UP NEXT
The Bruins will take the ice again Friday when they face the Dallas Stars. Puck drop from American Airlines Center is set for 8 p.m. ET.
