Colorado Avalanche: Team takes two in a row from Boston Bruins

The Colorado Avalanche are 3-1-0 on the season following a home-and-home sweep of the Boston Bruins.

Last year, the Boston Bruins followed up a 95-point season with a tough first round playoff loss to the Ottawa Senators. Meanwhile, the Colorado Avalanche were awful. They finished 21 points behind the next worst team in the league, the Vancouver Canucks.

Those vibes carried over to the offseason. Although Boston faced questions about bottom six holes and an aging Zdeno Chara, they locked up versatile young winger David Pastrnak with a seven-year contract extension.

The Avalanche had a tougher summer. Franchise cornerstone Matt Duchene was mentioned in trade rumors. General Manager Joe Sakic was criticized for his inactivity. Semyon Varlamov looked broken. It didn’t look like things were getting better in Denver.

When the two teams were scheduled for an early season home-and-home with plenty of rest in between, it looked like the Bruins had four easy points ahead of them.

Instead, the Avalanche won both games. On Monday, Oct. 9, they shellacked the Bruins 4-0 in Boston. And on Wednesday night, they held off a late come back to win 4-3 at home.

We need to talk about Tuukka

Tuukka Rask has an odd relationship with Bruins fans. Like many franchise goalies in the salary cap era, the front office and fans alike have to ask: is a long-term extension worth the risk?

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Rask signed an eight-year contract extension prior to the 2012-13 season. The Bruins were fresh off of a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals, and Rask immediately made good on the extension with a Vezina Trophy in 2014 His save percentage – at 5-on-5 and overall – has declined or held steady every season since.

Some of this can be attributed to the defense in front of him. The Bruins have lost a lot of talent on the blue line in recent years, including cap casualty Dougie Hamilton. Also, they are missing forward David Backes as he fights a bout of diverticulitis.

Still, Rask allowed seven goals on 48 shots in two games against the Avalanche. For perspective, the Avalanche averaged just over two goals per game last year. Rask is signed through the 2021 season. He has time to bounce back, but it won’t be long before Bruins fans start panicking.

Nail Yakupov finds the back of the net

Nail Yakupov is part of any draft bust conversation these days. The first pick from an underwhelming 2012 draft, he’s now on his third NHL team. Yakupov spent last year with the St. Louis Blues. Between healthy scratches and a season-ending knee injury, he was limited to just three goals in 40 games.

He may have finally found a home with the Colorado Avalanche. His three goals against the Bruins match his total from last season. Tonight he scored on a highlight reel one-timer from Matt Duchene that set fans off at the Pepsi Center.

Next: Week 2 NHL Power Rankings

Yakupov may never reach the heights of fellow Edmonton Oilers top picks like Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Connor McDavid. However, he is an RFA at the end of this season. If he shows glimpses of the promise he once held, Yakupov could be a key cog in the ongoing Colorado rebuild.