Seeking the sweet reprieve of home ice after a long east coast sojourn that took a heavy toll, the Avalanche instead returned to a Ball Arena crowd half occupied by giddy Bruins fans.
They had more reason to be boisterous anyway; Boston is still riding a historic start to the season, and Colorado is missing five of its top six forwards. Both showed in a 4-0 Avalanche loss Wednesday night.
The Bostonians were so convincing that when the Bruins scored in the third period, the Avalanche horn sounded signaling a home-team goal.
A ragtag team of Colorado call-ups put forth a commendable battle against the NHL’s best team — even escaping the first period in a scoreless tie — but the Bruins (21-3-1) held a double-digit shooting advantage and completed the season sweep two goals in the second and two more in the third.