Mzarek has 28 saves for his 1st shutout of the season as Red Wings beat Avalanche, 3-0.

Detroit Red Wings goalie Petr Mrazek, back, of the Czech Republic, stops a redirected shot off the stick of Colorado Avalanche defenseman Nick Holden in the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Feb. 5, 2015, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) (The Associated Press)

Detroit Red Wings goalie Petr Mrazek, of the Czech Republic, stops a shot off the stick of a Colorado Avalanche player in the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Feb. 5, 2015, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) (The Associated Press)

DENVER – Petr Mrazek had 28 saves for his first shutout of the season to lead the Detroit Red Wings to a 3-0 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night.

Justin Abdelkader put the Red Wings on the scoreboard in the second period, and Darren Helm and Luke Glendening added empty-net goals in the last 3 minutes. Detroit improved to 8-1-0 in its last nine games and pulled two points behind Tampa Bay for tops in both the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference.

Semyon Varlamov had 25 saves for Colorado, which dropped to 3-1-1 in its last five. The Avalanche were 0 for 3 on the power play and have not scored in their last 22 chances over their last four games.