Rask backstops Bruins to blanking of Stars
BOSTON -- Tuukka Rask stopped 27 shots for his seventh shutout of the season, and Brad Marchand scored his career-high 38th goal and added an assist to lead the Bruins to a 2-0 victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday.
The victory allowed the Bruins to keep pace in the wild scramble for an Eastern Conference playoff berth.
The Bruins entered the game a point behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for third place in the Atlantic Division, and they remained three points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second wild card by beating Dallas.
Boston won its third straight game -- the last two coming in front of strong efforts by Rask.
The goaltender, criticized by interim coach Bruce Cassidy for his play against Tampa Bay last Thursday, missed Saturday night's win in Brooklyn against the Islanders with a lower body injury. He took a shutout into the third period and gave up one goal Tuesday but Thursday night finished off his 37th career shutout -- his first shutout since Feb. 12.
Marchand scored with 4:46 remaining in the first period, and Torey Krug added a power-play goal 1:18 into the second period. Marchand snapped his career high in goals set last year. He has 38 points in the past 27 games.
Antti Niemi made 22 saves in his first start in the last eight games, but the Stars, already eliminated from the West race, saw their three-game TD Garden winning streak stopped.
With 8:52 left in the game, Boston's Kevan Miller sent Curtis McKenzie to the dressing room with a high stick that drew blood. The Stars had a four-minute power play but managed just two shots on Rask.
NOTES: D Julius Honka, recalled from the minors Wednesday, played for Dallas. ... Bruins C Patrice Bergeron, who recorded 13 faceoff wins, leads the NHL with 1,023. ... Boston C David Krejci played in his 700th NHL game and RW Jimmy Hayes his 300th. ... The Stars are the only NHL franchise the Bruins haven't beaten in overtime. ... Bruins RW Frank Vatrano, who has gone 14 games without a goal, was out with an upper body injury. ... LW Brad Marchand's 191st career goal moved him past Bill Cowley into 19th place on Boston's all-time list. ... RW Tyler Seguin played in his 300th game with the Stars since his trade from Boston. ... The Stars play Game 4 of a five-game trip at Carolina on Saturday, while the Bruins host the Florida Panthers on Saturday and then play their final road game Sunday at Chicago.