Bruins 2 - 0 Avalanche
Final
  for this game

Bruins win 11th straight, clinch playoff berth

Mar 22, 2014 - 3:57 AM Denver, CO (SportsNetwork.com) - The Boston Bruins extended their winning streak to 11 games and became the first team to clinch a playoff berth by blanking the suddenly-struggling Colorado Avalanche, 2-0, on Friday night.

Chad Johnson earned his third career shutout with a 31-save performance.

"I definitely had some bad rebounds and those guys did a great job cleaning it up for me," Johnson said.

Patrice Bergeron and Carl Soderberg scored for the Bruins, who last won 11 straight during a 13-game run from Feb. 23-March 20, 1971.

Boston also tied St. Louis for the most points in the league with 101.

Semyon Varlamov was sharp in defeat, making 26 saves, but the Avalanche still lost their third consecutive game.

"We did not create much and we could not get the puck away from the perimeter," said Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog.

Colorado, which has dropped four of five overall, was shut out for the first time this season despite playing almost the entire final five minutes with Varlamov on the bench for an extra skater.

The Avalanche had a 14-6 edge in shots in the first period, but trailed 1-0 at the intermission.

Dougie Hamilton set up Bergeron in the slot and Varlamov made the initial stop. Bergeron, though, got his own rebound and slipped it past the Colorado goaltender at the 5:12 mark of the opening frame.

The Bruins doubled their advantage on a second-period power play as Soderberg's wrister from the right circle went under the crossbar and into the top left corner at 13:11.

Game Notes

The Bruins have won six straight road games and three in a row at Colorado ... The Avalanche were 0-for-3 on the power play.






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