by By STEPHEN HARRIS , The Boston Herald

The B's had ample scoring chances last night, including at least two solid post shots, but they continued to fire blanks and were shut out by Chris Osgood and the Red Wings, 2-0.

With far too many turnovers and aimless passes - plus another dreadfully weak showing on three power plays - the B's failed to score for the second straight game. Though their effort again was decent, they have scored just three goals in their past four games.

``We know we've got enough in our lineup to score goals,'' coach Claude Julien said before the game. ``It's just that those guys have to create the scoring chances and make them count.''

They got the chances but could not finish against the veteran Osgood, who stopped 29 shots for his 50th career shutout.

The two-game losing streak is the first for the B's this season.

The Detroit goals came in a span of 3:22 late in the first period, as Henrik Zetterberg (power play) and Tomas Holmstrom put pucks behind Tim Thomas (24 saves). The Wings, much better defensively than they are sometimes given credit for, clamped down effectively to protect Osgood.

The Bruins head back east for a four-game homestand, a stretch in which the club must find ways to score goals without the injured Marc Savard and Milan Lucic.

In the first 10 minutes, the B's skated well The best chances came at 9:20, when Patrice Bergeron's pass from the left boards found Marco Sturm alone at the doorstep. He had one backhand stopped by Osgood, who then got a piece of a second backhander. The puck flipped past the goalie and was heading into the net, but Osgood, now lying on his stomach across the crease, swiped it clear with his glove at the last second.

Seconds later, David Krejci popped in alone for a backhander from just left of the net that was blocked by Osgood. And soon after that, a snap from the left point by Zdeno Chara rang off the near post.

The B's then had a power play, but as has been the case most of the season, it generated nothing.

At 14:29, when Sturm was sent off for hooking Brett Lebda, the Detroit power play needed two seconds to score. In the left circle, Datsyuk out-drew Bergeron, pushing the puck to his right. Zetterberg stepped into it and snapped a bullet past Thomas to the far side.

The B's were pressing for the equalizer late in the period when Bergeron and Mark Recchi got caught down below the Detroit end line. The Wings made a quick transition up ice, and Datsyuk blew past Chara high in the B's zone. Datsyuk carried deep then passed back to Holmstrom, who got just enough on his backhander to slide the puck past Thomas.

At 6:30 of the second period, Blake Wheeler found a Michael Ryder rebound in front, but his follow-up shot was stopped by Osgood. A minute later, Brad Marchand walked in off the right side and had his forehand jam blocked. And about 40 seconds later, Ryder's shot from mid-slot clanged off a goal post and stayed out.

The B's earned their second power play late in the period and didn't come close to getting off a shot.

- sharris@bostonherald.com

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