BOSTON (AP) Tuukka Rask made 32 saves and extended his personal point streak to 19 games lifting the Boston Bruins to a 3-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night.
Rask is now 17-0-2 in his last 19 starts and the Bruins improved to 15-1-4 in their last 20 games overall. David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron and David Backes scored for Boston.
In a game featuring two of the top three teams in goals against average, the goalies were the story as Jake Allen made 22 of his 43 saves in the second period – including a spectacular glove stop of Krejci. Rask matched Allen by robbing Jaden Schwartz 1:45 into the third period with a glove save of his own.
With the goalie pulled, Schwartz gave the Bruins a scare when he extended his scoring streak to five games and cut the lead to 2-1 with 1:32 remaining.
Backes scored an empty-netter with 1 second left to end it.
Krejci’s goal was a controversial one at 12:32 of the first. He slipped the puck past a distracted Allen, who had collided with two Bruins players after making the initial save on Ryan Spooner. The Blues challenged by claiming goaltender interference, but the goal was upheld.
Bergeron added an insurance goal on the power play when he one-timed David Pastrnak’s pass to beat Allen over the shoulder for a 2-0 Bruins lead at 9:05 of the third.
The Blues had previously won three straight and five of six.
NOTES: Spooner had two assists for the Bruins. … Boston scored first for the first time in nine games. … Allen was undefeated in four career starts against Boston and started for the first time in seven games. … Brad Marchand served the third game of his five-game suspension. … St. Louis is 3-5-1 in its last nine road games.
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Blues: at Buffalo on Saturday.
Bruins: host Tampa Bay on Saturday.
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