BOSTON - The Avalanche sure is trying to turn this into an interesting playoff race.

It might be too late with only 15 regular-season games remaining, but the Avalanche is making a determined effort to put some pressure on the teams it is chasing for the final Western Conference playoff berth.

The Avalanche stretched its winning streak to a season-best four games Tuesday night with a 2-0 victory over the Boston Bruins - its third straight victory on the road - before an announced crowd of 11,707 at the TD Bank- north Garden.

"We have to make a great run and we haven't had a sustained run all year," coach Joel Quenneville said. "That's what we're hoping to do right now. We still have to win almost every game."

Goalie Peter Budaj stopped 21 shots for his third shutout of the season and fifth of his NHL career, Brett Clark ended a scoreless tie with a goal at 2:57 of the third period and Milan Hejduk clinched matters with an empty-net goal with 38.8 seconds to play.

Paul Stastny collected an assist on Clark's goal, giving him a 16-game points-scoring streak to tie the 26-year-old franchise record set by his father, Peter Stastny, and the Avalanche killed off three consecutive penalties in the third period.

"We're not going to quit in here," team captain Joe Sakic said. "I mean, you never know. We just (have to) win our games and, hopefully, we'll get some help. We know it's an uphill battle, but we're going to give it our best."

The trip continues tonight when the Avalanche takes on the Eastern Conference-leading Buffalo Sabres at the HSBC Arena (5 MST, Altitude).

"The guys did a tremendous job," Budaj said. "I think we outplayed them, I would say for almost three periods. We had more chances than them. (Bruins goalie) Tim Thomas played a great game, he made some big saves, and our 'PK' was really strong. They have some good shooters out there."

The Bruins are in a heated battle for a playoff spot in the East and had lost only four times in regulation in their previous 15 games.

"It's a huge win and we're very happy to keep this streak alive," Budaj said. "Buffalo is going to be a very tough game, but we've got some momentum. We're playing great defensively."

The Avalanche has allowed a total of six goals during the winning streak while killing all 14 of its penalties, five against the Bruins.

"This team is having so much fun right now," Stastny said. "It was 0-0 for two periods and the guys were just loose. We know we can win."

The Avalanche finally broke through when Clark took a pass from Hejduk at the top of the left faceoff circle and beat Thomas with a screen shot. The goal originally was credited to Brett McLean, who stood in front of Thomas along with a Boston defender.

The Avalanche had a chance to stretch its lead a couple of minutes later with a power play but couldn't register a shot against Thomas and relied on defense and penalty killing the rest of the way.

The outcome was in doubt until Hejduk scored into the Bruins vacated net, giving him 11 goals and 14 assists in the past 18 games.

"I thought we played a real solid road game," Quenneville said. "It was anybody's game, our penalty killers did a real nice job and Peter was really key on a couple of glove saves.

"I think the environment around our group . . . guys are comfortable. They're not just relaxed, they're excited about where we're at. The energy on the bench is there.

"I like how we've played these road games. There's a real purpose to the games and I think the guys are enjoying themselves right now."

The Avalanche, which finished with 30 shots, had the better scoring chances through 40 minutes but couldn't finish them.

"We're trying to win as many hockey games as we can and we'll see what happens," Hejduk said. "We're playing pretty good hockey lately and it's working."

ETC.: Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque, whose No. 77 has been retired by both teams, attended the game. . . . Forward Chuck Kobasew made his Bruins debut. Kobasew, acquired from Calgary on Feb. 10, had been on injured reserve with a fractured elbow he suffered in January.

Colorado......0	0	2	-	2
Boston......0	0	0	-	0

First period - None. Penalties - Bos bench, served by Kessel (too many men), 5:09; Wideman, Bos (delay of game), 13:16; Hejduk, Col, (hooking), 17:17.

Second period - None. Penalties - Mowers, Bos (hooking), 10:06; Clark, Col, (holding), 12:47.

Third period - 1, Col, Clark 8 (Hejduk, Stastny), 2:57. 2, Col, Hejduk 26, 19:21 (en). Penalties - Wideman, Bos (tripping), 4:59; Klee, Col, (tripping), 6:55; Finger, Col, (hooking), 12:50; Laperriere, Col, (hooking), 15:53.

Shots - Col 10-9-11 - 30. Bos 7-7-7 - 21. Power plays - Col 0 of 4; Bos 0 of 5. Goalies - Col, Budaj 22-15-4 (21 shots-21 saves). Bos, Thomas 28-21-4 (29-28). A - 11,707 (17,565). T - 2:15. Referees - Bill McCreary, Dean Morton. Linesmen - David Brisebois, Mark Pare.

Avalanche at Sabres

• When: 5 MST tonight.

• Where: TD HSBC Arena, Buffalo, N.Y.

• TV/radio: Altitude; KKFN-AM (950).

• Leading scorers

Colorado (33-29-5) G A P

C Joe Sakic 27 49 76

RW Andrew Brunette 24 39 63

C Paul Stastny 22 41 63

RW Milan Hejduk 26 29 55

LW Wojtek Wolski 19 23 42

Coach: Joel Quenneville

Buffalo (44-16-5) G A P

C Daniel Briere 27 51 78

LW Thomas Vanek 34 30 64

C Chris Drury 33 24 57

RW Jason Pominville 26 27 53

RW Dainius Zubrus 20 32 52

Coach: Lindy Ruff

• Injuries: Colorado - D Patrice Brisebois (back surgery), D Jordan Leopold (wrist surgery) and C Pierre Turgeon (calf) are on injured reserve; D Karlis Skrastins (knee) and RW Marek Svatos (groin) are day to day. Buffalo - C Paul Gaustad (ankle) is on injured reserve; RW Maxim Afinogenov (wrist), RW Ales Kotalik (knee), LW Daniel Paille (finger) and D Jaroslav Spacek (hand) are out.

• Sidelight: The Avalanche had better not fall behind the Sabres, who are 32-0-0 this season when they take a lead of two goals or more. The Sabres also have come back from two-goal deficits to win eight times.

• Notes: The Avalanche hasn't played in Buffalo since March 24, 2003, when it lost 4-3 in overtime. . . . The Avalanche has gone 3-4-1 in the second game when playing on consecutive days. . . . The Sabres haven't played since a 3-1 win Saturday at Toronto. . . . Despite a rash of injuries, the Sabres are 9-0-1 in their past 10 home games, 9-1-1 in the past 11 overall and 6-1-1 against Western Conference teams. . . . The Sabres have scored 34 goals in the past six games.

sadowskir@RockyMountainNews.com Avalanche 2, Bruins 0

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