Bruins 6, Avalanche 2
DENVER -- Right winger Jimmy Hayes had a goal and three assists, center Ryan Spooner had a goal and an assist and the Boston Bruins routed the Colorado Avalanche 6-2 on Wednesday night.
Center Chris Kelly, right winger Tyler Randell and defenseman Kevan Miller also scored for Boston, which avoided its first 0-4 start in 51 years.
The Bruins, who were outscored 16-7 in their first three games, turned to backup goaltender Jonas Gustavsson to stop the slide. He was staked to a big lead before Colorado go third-period goals from right winger Gabriel Landeskog and center John Mitchell.
Gustavsson finished with 20 saves.
Colorado pulled the goalie for an extra attacker with 3:01 left and Boston center David Krejci scored into the empty net at 18:31.
Miller gave Boston the early lead when his shot from the right point through traffic beat goalie Semyon Varlamov inside the far post at 5:49 of the first. Hayes made it 2-0 just 2:22 later when he knocked in the rebound of defenseman Zdeno Chara's shot.
The Bruins piled on in the second period to take command.
Randell tipped in defenseman Adam McQuaid's shot from the point at 3:46, and Boston put it away midway through the period on Kelly's goal. Hayes stole defenseman Tyson Barrie's clearing pass at the blue line and fed Spooner in the slot. Spooner sent a pass to Kelly, who deked Varlamov and put a backhander in to make it 4-0.
Spooner made it 5-0 when he scored after another giveaway at 15:32. Varlamov, who stopped just 14 of 19 shots, was then replaced by backup Reto Berra, who stopped all five shots he faced from that point on.
The Avalanche got one back on a power play late in the second. Landeskog had it in front but lost the handle when he tried to spin around. Chara tried to poke it away but instead knocked it into his own net to make it 5-1.
Mitchell added his third of the season mid-way through the third to make it 5-2.
NOTES: Avalanche D Brad Stuart made his season debut, and D Nate Guenin was a healthy scratch for the first time. Guenin joined D Brandon Gormley, who has yet to play this year, on the sideline. C Mikhail Grigorenko also was scratched. ... Boston LW Brad Marchand is out with a concussion but is on the two-game road trip with the team. C Max Talbot was a late scratch. ... The Avalanche scored 10 goals in their first two games, a franchise best since the move to Denver in 1995. ... The Bruins recalled D Tommy Cross from Providence of the American Hockey League.