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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.