Bruins 3, Blackhawks 0
Tim Thomas turned aside 32 shots for his ninth shutout of the season, carrying the Boston Bruins to a 3-0 victory over the visiting Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night.
Defensemen Zdeno Chara and Johnny Boychuk scored less than 2 1/2 minutes apart in the second period as Boston (43-23-10) pulled within three points of Washington for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Mark Recchi assisted on Boychuk's goal, giving him 1,532 career points and moving him past Paul Coffey into 12th place on the NHL's all-time scoring list.
Nathan Horton added a third-period tally for Boston, which has allowed three goals in winning four of its last five games.
Thomas notched his second shutout in four games in running his winning streak to four games.
Rookie Corey Crawford made 31 saves in his 21st straight start for Chicago (41-27-8), which entered the night with a three-point lead for the eighth slot in the West.