The defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche don’t seem to have anything for the Boston Bruins, who earned a 4-0 victory Wednesday night at Ball Arena.
The Bruins improved their NHL-best record to 21-3-1, while the Avalanche fell to 13-10-1.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Throughout their dominant stretch to open up the season, the Bruins offense has received the majority. Boston does lead the NHL in goals per game (four) after all, but Wednesday was different, as the Bruins defense stifled a short-handed Avalanche team who struggled to get anything going on the offensive end.
Colorado was down key players entering this one, with captain Gabriel Landeskog, leading goal-scorer Nathan MacKinnon and Stanley Cup hero Artturi Lehkonen all out of the lineup. While many would expect the Bruins to come away with the win, the dominant nature in which they did was the true story of the night.
The Avalanche went 0-for-5 on power play opportunities as the Bruins defense played an aggressive style that forced the issue and looked for turnovers every chance they got. In the end, Colorado’s power plays resulted in more points for Boston than they did for the home team — with the Bruins scoring a shorthanded goal and putting things away with a breakaway out of the box.
To top off the tremendous defensive effort, Linus Ullmark had another great night between the pipes, bringing his NHL-leading goals against average to 1.72.
STARS OF THE GAME
— Taylor Hall is loving third-line matchups. He scored three points Wednesday, bringing his total to 11 in the last 10 games, with two goals and an assist in the win.
— Charlie Coyle has quietly become an elite playmaker on the third line, benefitting from playing alongside Hall. He assisted on Hall’s first goal after stealing the puck and dropping off a great pass. He had two assists on the night.
— Ullmark finished his shutout performance with 23 saves.
WAGER WATCH
DraftKings Sportsbook set the odds of Hall potting a goal at +450. Continuing his insane hot streak, the winger cashed that ticket in the second period. A $100 wager on that prop bet would have netted a total of $550.
UP NEXT
The Bruins will continue their road trip Friday night when they take on the Arizona Coyotes. Puck drop from Mullett Arena, on the campus of Arizona State University, is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET, and you can catch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.
