BOSTON — Daniel Briere could not have picked a better time to score his first goal with his new team.
The veteran forward, a natural center playing right wing for the Colorado Avalanche after signing a two-year, $8 million contract, scored with five-tenths of a second left to give Avs their first win in three games — a 2-1 decision over the Boston Bruins on Monday.
The goal was also the 300th goal of Briere’s NHL career.
“Hopefully there are many more to come but it’s certainly a good feeling to find a loose puck like that late in the game and get a big win, especially after the start that we had,” said Briere, who gave Colorado its first win after two shutout losses to the Minnesota Wild. “It’s been a little bit of a roller coaster to start the season, but we are hoping this game will get us on our way.”
The Avalanche put on the pressure for the final 30 seconds before defenseman Jan Hejda flipped a shot from the left point. Briere got the rebound and put the puck past goaltender Niklas Svedberg.
There was no time left on the clock and the green light, signifying the end of regulation, was on. The play was reviewed and it was determined that the puck had entered the net with 0.5 remaining.
“I had no clue (if goal was in time),” Briere said. “I saw the referees; nobody knew what was going on and that’s when I had that sinking feeling that it might not be good, but it’s a big relief just to get a win under our belt.
“The pressure builds obviously when you don’t win and you don’t score goals, so to get a big victory here in Boston, never an easy building to play in either.”
The Avs, who got 27 saves from goaltender Reto Berra, have not lost in Boston since 1998, chalking up eight wins and a tie since.
The loss was the third straight for the Bruins (1-3), who have scored four goals in four games. Right winger Loui Eriksson scored for Boston.
“It was just a scrambly play and blown coverage and they scored,” Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg said of the game-winner.
Asked about losing with so little time left, Svedberg, who made 28 saves and played well, said, “Yeah, it sucks. Of course. It was a tight game. Both teams played a tight game. Both teams wanted the win badly so it’s a tough way to lose it.”
His coach, Claude Julien, thought Svedberg, “Gave us exactly what we need from our backup goaltender — he gave us a chance to win.”
The Avalanche (1-2) thought they had taken a 2-1 lead with 12:47 left when a deflected shot hit the back of right winger Dennis Everberg’s skate and trickled in. It was first called a goal on the ice, but the four officials convened and said no-goal because they said the deflection off center Ryan O’Reilly was off a high stick. On replay, it didn’t look like O’Reilly’s stick was too high, but the evidence was apparently inconclusive so the no-goal call stood.
“I don’t know what it is — we always have low-scoring, one-goal games and they are a tremendous team, tough to play against and they make sure you’re at your best,” said Avs defenseman Erik Johnson.
The Colorado scoreless streak, dating back to the last game of the 2014 playoffs, had just gone past 157 minutes of playing time when left winger Jamie McGinn came out from the corner and squeezed a shot through Svedberg, who may have been screened.
The lead assist on the Bruins goal went to center Carl Soderberg, giving him three assists on the team’s four goals.