David Pastrnak and Hampus Lindholm scored 13 seconds apart in the second period and the Boston Bruins beat the scuffling Colorado Avalanche 5-3 in Denver on Wednesday.
Lindholm added an assist and Cole Koepke, Charlie Coyle and John Beecher also had goals for Boston, which kicked off a three-game road trip with a victory.
Joonas Korpisalo turned away 22 shots as the Bruins won for the third time in four games since a season-opening loss.
Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen had a goal and two assists each for Colorado, which lost another player to injury when Miles Wood left after taking a hard hit from Lindholm in the third period.
The Avalanche were without defenseman Devon Toews for the second straight game, and forward Jonathan Drouin missed his third contest in a row.
Ross Colton had a goal, Nathan MacKinnon finished with two assists and Alexandar Georgiev made 20 saves for Colorado, which dropped its fourth game in a row to start the season.
The Bruins took a 1-0 lead when Koepke redirected a pass by Georgiev at 13:46 of the first period. It was his second goal of the season.
Colton tied it on a power play at 15:07 of the first period. He played a give-and-go with Rantanen and beat Korpisalo with a snap shot on the return pass for his second goal.
Coyle answered with a power-play goal before the end of the first when he redirected Mason Lohrei’s pass to the front of the net at 17:09. It was his first tally of the season.
Boston extended the lead midway through the second period when Pastrnak and Lindholm struck quickly. Pastrnak’s fourth goal made it 3-1 on the power play at 9:09, and right after the faceoff, Lindholm beat Georgiev with a shot from the boards at 9:22.
It was his first goal of the season.
The Avalanche crept back into the game with a couple of power-play goals. Makar made it 4-2 when he scored from the point at 11:15 of the second, his first of the season, and Rantanen scored his fourth goal 4:52 into the third period.
Beecher scored into the empty net at 17:59, his second tally of the season.
–Field Level Media
