There was good news and, well, some not so good news for the Boston Bruins on Thursday.
Brad Marchand, as he’s done throughout this season, led the Bruins offensive attack versus the Dallas Stars, scoring the opening goal and assisting on Torey Krug’s power play goal in the second period.
Marchand’s goal gives him 38 this season, which is the highest single season total for a Bruins player since Glen Murray in 2002-03. It also puts Marchand four goals back of Sidney Crosby for the league lead.
The Bruins won, shutting down the Stars by a final score of 2-0. Tuukka Rask made 27 saves for the shut out.
The win keeps the Bruins moving in the right direction as they look to lock up a playoff position -- either the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, or perhaps a top-three spot in the Atlantic Division. The latter is still very much a possibility.
The New York Islanders had a horrendous start against the Philadelphia Flyers and it was costly, as they lost 6-3, meaning they fall six points behind Boston.
However, the Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning, two teams chasing and still within striking distance of the Bruins in the wild card race, both won Thursday. The Hurricanes came back to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets in overtime, while the Bolts had a nice offensive outburst in the second period on their way to defeating the Detroit Red Wings.
The Toronto Maple Leafs were also victorious Thursday, so they retain third in the Atlantic, one point better than Boston.
The Bruins are three points up on Tampa Bay and four points up on Carolina. Both the Bolts and Hurricanes have a game in hand on Boston.
Meanwhile, there was a scary moment late in the Bruins-Stars game. Curtis McKenzie was rushed off the ice, clutching the right side of his face as blood dripped to the ice, after being clipped by a high stick from Kevan Miller off a faceoff.
Miller was assessed a double minor for high sticking on the play.