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Giguere throws blanket over Bruins, Avs improve to 4-0

Oct 11, 2013 - 4:28 AM Boston, MA (SportsNetwork.com) - Jean-Sebastien Giguere stopped all 39 shots he faced for his first shutout of the season and Ryan O'Reilly scored late in the first period, as the Colorado Avalanche shut down the Boston Bruins, 2-0, in an interconference battle of unbeaten clubs from TD Garden.

Matt Duchene added a late insurance tally and one assist for the Avalanche, who earned their first 4-0-0 start since the lockout-shortened 1995 season as the Quebec Nordiques.

"It's another solid team effort," Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy said about his club which has surrendered just three goals. "Everybody was sharp. It's good for our confidence. I've been asking the guys to work really hard, and I've been asking some details of the game that I think are important."

Tuukka Rask made 28 stops for the Bruins, who opened the year with home wins over Tampa Bay and Detroit.

Boston came up empty during a lengthy 4-on-3 advantage after the midway point of the third period, with Giguere dancing across his crease to make several quick saves.

Duchene hit both posts on rapid-fire chances in close with 2 1/2 minutes remaining but remained resolute in the final moments.

Rask was called to the bench with just under a minute remaining and Duchene outraced a Bruins defender to flip the puck into an empty net with 25.7 seconds to go.

"I don't think you have to overreact after a game like this," said Bruins head coach Claude Julien. "I don't think our guys gave a poor effort but we know we can be better."

A crisply played first period which saw Rask and Giguere go save-for-save ended with Colorado taking a 1-0 lead to intermission.

O'Reilly appeared to deflect an Andre Benoit point shot out of midair from between the circles with 39.3 seconds to play. The score occurred 26 seconds into a power play as Boston's David Krejci was sent off for hooking.

The pace continued in the scoreless middle period, with Rask turning away six shots and Giguere equal to 15 chances. The Boston netminder's finest save came when he did the splits to deny top-overall pick Nathan McKinnon on a redirect from the right wing.

Game Notes

Giguere recorded his 37th career shutout and first regulation whitewash since a 3-0 win over Dallas on Nov. 18, 2011 ... Colorado's Semyon Varlamov posted a 1-0 shutout win in Boston in the clubs' last meeting, Oct. 10, 2011 ... Roy's last game in Boston was as a starter for Colorado, a 28-save, 3-2 win over the Bruins on Feb. 4, 2003 ... The Avs remained unbeaten in their last eight trips to the Hub (7 wins, 1 tie) since dropping a 4-1 decision on Mar. 30, 1998 ... Boston fell to 7-14-1 with one tie against the Avalanche since their 1995 relocation from Quebec City.