BOSTON - Tuukka Rask made 27 saves for his seventh shutout of the season and the Boston Bruins beat the Dallas Stars 2-0 on Thursday night.

Boston won its third straight and stayed three points ahead of Tampa Bay for the second wildcard spot with one game in hand.

Rask has won two straight since struggling for a stretch. He had allowed 18 goals during a four-game losing streak.

Brad Marchand gave Boston a 1-0 lead when he jammed a shot past goalie Antti Niemi at 15:14 of the first period.

Niemi had 22 saves and is winless in his last five appearances.

Torey Krug added an insurance goal early in the second period when he converted a perfect feed from David Pastrnak.

Marchand added an assist and moved into third place in the scoring race, passing Washington's Nicklas Backstrom and Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby.

Dallas had its best opportunity at 11:08 of the third period when Boston's Kevan Miller got a double-minor for high-sticking Curtis McKenzie.

Dallas has three goals in its last three games.

NOTES: David Krejci played in his 700th game for the Bruins. ... Former Bruin Tyler Seguin played in his 300th game for the Stars and has two goals over the last 10 games. ... Boston F Frank Vatrano missed the game with an upper-body injury. ... McKenzie bled profusely and was helped off the ice.

UP NEXT

Stars: Travel to Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.

Bruins: Host the Florida Panthers on Saturday.

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