Bruins at Avalanche
The Boston Bruins have been unfazed by opening the season with four straight games on the road, grinding out three consecutive victories while allowing a total of four goals. After a run to the Stanley Cup Final last season, the Bruins have not appeared to miss a beat and will look to wrap up a perfect road trip at the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night.
After permitting one tally in its first two games, Boston had to come from behind at Vegas, erasing an early two-goal deficit in a 4-3 victory. "It's not too long since we last played together and I think we have pretty much the same group, so we know the system and it helps," goaltender Tuukka Rask said. The Avalanche opened the season with a pair of two-goal victories at home but have been idle since knocking off Minnesota 5-3 on Saturday night. Colorado has won eight in a row at Pepsi Center and has a five-game point streak (4-0-1) overall against the Bruins.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, NESN (Boston), Altitude (Colorado)
ABOUT THE BRUINS (3-0-0): Boston relied on its defense in its first two wins but the top line thrived in Vegas as Brad Marchand scored twice and set up another goal, David Pastrnak recorded three points and Patrice Bergeron added an assist. Marchand, who had a team-high 100 points, said he is not surprised by the strong start. "We have a good group. We're pretty much all together again," Marchand said. "We've got a couple of new guys, but we have a good team. We're going to compete every night. That's what's in this room, that's what we expect."
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (2-0-0): Coming off back-to-back appearances in the playoffs and having added some key acquisitions in the offseason to go along with a potent top line, Colorado is brimming with confidence. “We feel like we can beat any team,” star forward Nathan MacKinnon told the Denver Post. “If we play our best, we feel like we can beat anybody, which is something we’ve never really felt before on this team.” The No. 1 unit of MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and captain Gabriel Landeskog already has combined for nine points.
OVERTIME
1. Avalanche F Mikko Rantanen already has three goals this season and has five points in his last four against Boston.
2. Marchand had five goals and 10 points in 13 games versus the Avalanche.
3. Colorado D Ian Cole was cleared to return to the lineup but his status remains uncertain for Thursday.