The Boston Bruins went 100 games without being shut out before running into the unbeaten Colorado Avalanche their last time out. They'll now try to avoid being blanked in back-to-back contests for the first time in nearly four years when they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.
A 2-0 home loss Thursday was the first time the Bruins had been on the wrong end of a shutout in the regular season or playoffs since Feb. 28, 2012, in a 1-0 loss to Ottawa. The last time they failed to score in two straight games was Nov. 1 and 3, 2009.
Boston (2-1-0) outshot Colorado 39-30 but couldn't get one past No. 2 goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere after falling behind in the first period.
"Sometimes you run into a hot goaltender, a team that's playing well ... and they did tonight," coach Claude Julien said.
Jarome Iginla has been shut out all season, even after having a team-high seven shots against the Avalanche. It's the third time in a 17-year career that he has gone the first three games without a point, and he went four without a goal or an assist only in 2003-04. Iginla has 50 points in 46 games against the Blue Jackets (2-1-0).
Boston's Tuukka Rask hasn't shut anyone out yet this year, but he's come close, stopping 88 of 91 shots and allowing one goal in each of the three games.
Colorado scored on a first-period power play with Rask screened. It is the only power-play goal Boston has given up this season in 11 short-handed situations.
Bruins forward Milan Lucic said his team needed to look for similar scoring opportunities going forward.
"I think we did a good job generating chances, but I think we did a poor job of getting to the net and picking up loose pucks or creating a screen," Lucic said. "That's obviously something that we've got to get better at."
The Blue Jackets won 4-1 against Buffalo on Thursday and will try to win three of their first four for the third time in franchise history. Their best start was 5-1-0 in 2009-10.
"We did a lot of good things tonight as far as generating offense and playing in their zone, which was a lot different than the previous two games," coach Todd Richards said.
Richards has 14 players with at least one point, and Marian Gaborik leads the way with two goals and three assists.
Gaborik scored and had two assists against Buffalo for his first three-point game as a member of the Blue Jackets. Linemates Cam Atkinson and Brandon Dubinsky also scored, and all three have at least three points.
"Playing with some pretty good players," Atkinson said. "The chemistry between us three has definitely grown. It's fun to play with those guys."
They also got a chance to play with 2012 No. 2 overall draft pick Ryan Murray. The 20-year-old defenseman recorded his first career point with an assist on Gaborik's first-period goal.
Gaborik has been held to 12 points in 21 games against Boston, tied for his fewest versus any team he's faced at least 10 times.
The Bruins have won three straight against the Blue Jackets and are 4-1-2 all-time at Columbus.
