David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron and David Backes each scored once, and goalie Tuukka Rask made 32 saves as the Boston Bruins defeated the St. Louis Blues 3-1 on Thursday night in Boston.

Krejci scored his goal in the first period while Bergeron and Backes added theirs in the third as Boston improved to 15-1-4 in the past 20 games. The Bruins had posted at least one point in 18 straight games before Wednesday's loss to Anaheim.

Rask has been a big reason for the team's success. This victory helped the goalie earn a point for the Bruins for the 19th straight start - he's 17-0-2 in that time.

St. Louis goalie Jake Allen remained busy, making 43 saves but slipping to 0-5 in his past five starts.

The Blues now are 5-2-0 in their past seven games and did not give Allen much offensive help in this contest as the Bruins outshot them, 46-33.

Krejci gave Boston a 1-0 lead with his first-period goal. After Allen made two stops, the puck squirted loose near the crease, and Krejci back-handed it into the net.

That goal came with 7:28 left in the first period, and it was the first time in nine games that Boston scored first -- despite all of the Bruins' recent success.

The Bruins had plenty of chances in the first two periods, compiling 22 shots in the second period and 31 overall but still only holding that 1-0 lead heading into the third.

Bergeron gave the Bruins some insurance with his goal at 9:05 of the third period.

Jaden Schwartz made it interesting for St. Louis by scoring with 1:32 left in the game, cutting the Boston lead to 2-1.

However, Backes got his empty-net goal with one second left to seal the victory.

Also for the Bruins, the Boston Herald reported that Charlie McAvoy took part in an optional morning skate Thursday and now has been cleared to take part in practice. McAvoy had a heart ablation procedure last week but could return to the lineup as early as this weekend.

--Field Level Media