NHL: Boston shuts out Colorado for 11th straight win

Denver • Patrice Bergeron and Carl Soderberg each had a goal, Chad Johnson stopped 31 shots for his third career shutout, and the Boston Bruins beat the Colorado Avalanche 2-0 on Friday night for their 11th win in a row.

Boston became the first team to clinch a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

It is the longest run for the Bruins since a 13-game winning streak in the 1970-71 season. They pushed their point total to 101, the 21st time the team has reached the 100-point threshold. Colorado pulled goalie Semyon Varlamov for an extra attacker with five minutes remaining but couldn't avert its first shoutout of the season. The Avalanche had scored at least once in 80 straight games since their previous shutout last April 6 at Phoenix. Colorado, which handed Boston its only shutout of the season on Oct. 10, was the last NHL team to be blanked this season. Johnson was at the center of the effort, turning away one scoring opportunity after another. One of his best saves came in the second period when he used his glove to stop Nathan MacKinnon's shot on a breakaway. Johnson improved to 10-0-1 in his last 11 starts, a career-best point streak which includes a pair of shutouts.

With the Bruins on the power play, Loui Eriksson passed to Soderberg in the lower right circle for a wrist shot into the upper corner of the net on Varlamov's stick side. Day in

the NHL

—

Standings

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

Boston 70 48 17 5 101 225 149

Tampa Bay 70 39 24 7 85 208 185

Montreal 71 38 26 7 83 182 180

Toronto 71 36 27 8 80 208 219

Detroit 69 32 24 13 77 183 194

Ottawa 69 28 28 13 69 198 234

Florida 70 26 36 8 60 173 225

Buffalo 70 20 42 8 48 136 206

Metropolitan Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

Pittsburgh 69 45 19 5 95 218 173

Philadelphia 69 37 25 7 81 199 197

N.Y. Rangers 71 38 29 4 80 188 175

Columbus 70 36 28 6 78 200 192

Washington 71 33 27 11 77 205 211

New Jersey 70 30 27 13 73 172 183

Carolina 70 30 31 9 69 174 198

N.Y. Islanders 70 26 35 9 61 195 239

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Central Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

St. Louis 69 47 15 7 101 226 156

Chicago 71 41 15 15 97 240 184

Colorado 71 44 21 6 94 216 194

Minnesota 70 36 23 11 83 174 172

Dallas 69 32 26 11 75 196 201

Winnipeg 71 32 30 9 73 199 208

Nashville 71 30 31 10 70 171 213

Pacific Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

San Jose 71 46 18 7 99 219 170

Anaheim 70 45 18 7 97 222 178

Los Angeles 70 39 25 6 84 170 149

Phoenix 70 34 25 11 79 194 197

Vancouver 72 32 30 10 74 172 194

Calgary 70 28 35 7 63 173 209

Edmonton 71 25 37 9 59 177 228

NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss.

Friday's games

N.Y. Rangers 3, Columbus 1

Chicago 3, Carolina 2

Boston 2, Colorado 0

Nashville 6, Calgary 5

Saturday's games

St. Louis at Philadelphia, 11 a.m.

Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh, 11 a.m.

Detroit at Minnesota, noon

Ottawa at Dallas, 1 p.m.

Florida at Los Angeles, 2 p.m.

Montreal at Toronto, 5 p.m.

N.Y. Rangers at New Jersey, 5 p.m.

Carolina at Winnipeg, 5 p.m.

Boston at Phoenix, 7 p.m.

Calgary at Edmonton, 8 p.m.

Washington at San Jose, 8:30 p.m.