The Colorado Avalanche took on the Boston Bruins on Saturday afternoon. Nathan MacKinnon was looking to lead his group to a win. But Jeremy Swayman and his Bruins had other plans. Boston defeated Colorado by the score of 3-2, handing the Avalanche their first regulation loss of the season.
MacKinnon dished out two assists as Artturi Lehkonen scored twice for the Avs. Swayman faced 33 shots on goal, but turned aside 31 in the win. The Bruins improved to 4-6-0 on the year and snapped a six-game losing streak in the process.
Colorado certainly hates to lose, but they feel good about their performance. In fact, MacKinnon said after the game he felt his team dominated. However, he tipped his hat to the Boston goaltender following the contest.
“It’s just unfortunate we couldn’t put it away early. We had a lot of looks, a lot of chances, and we were dominating, but let them back in it. They held it down the second half of the game, but the first half of the game we had chances to get a good lead … I thought we really outplayed them, honestly. Swayman had a night,” the Avalanche star said, via NHL.com.
Bruins’ Jeremy Swayman Credits Boston Defense
Maddie Meyer/Getty ImagesBoston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman was crucial to their win over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.
Swayman played a big role in this win. And he’s mostly played well this season despite the rough six-game losing streak. The Bruins netminder has played to a .910 save percentage so far this year. It’s a positive sign coming off a disappointing 2024-25 campaign.
However, the Bruins goalie also had some flowers to give after beating the Avalanche. He acknowledged the defensive effort in front of him. Boston blocked 34 shots in his game against Colorado.
“It’s a momentum shifter in a game when guys are sacrificing their bodies for the greater good of the team. That’s important for us and gives us a ton of momentum moving forward and I’m really thankful to have these guys in front of me,” the Boston netminder said, via NHL.com.
More than the blocked shots, they battened down the hatches when they needed to. The Bruins took three penalties against the Avalanche. However, MacKinnon and Colorado’s vaunted power play were unable to score on any of their three power play opportunities.
Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche Starting To Sink
It’s still quite early in the 2025-26 NHL season. There is a lot of hockey left to be played. However, losses can snowball at any point in the year. Boston, for example, went on their losing streak after an undefeated 3-0 start.
This could be happening with Colorado now, too. While this is their first regulation loss, it’s their third loss in a row. They now own a record of 5-1-3 on the young 2025-26 NHL season. And their next game is against the New Jersey Devils, who have won seven straight games.
The Avalanche have the talent to bounce back from these losses. At the same time, it’s important they don’t let this spiral into something worse. A good performance against the Devils on Sunday afternoon is a must for this team.
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