The Bruins held fan appreciation day at the Garden Saturday and made sure they delivered a win to the home crowd, beating the Senators, 3-1.

Daniel Paille, Nathan Horton and Rich Peverley, provided the goals for the B’s, though it was the goaltender who may ultimately end up being the biggest story.

Claude Julien said following the game that Tuukka Rask would play in the regular-season finale Sunday, meaning Tim Thomas has set the NHL record for save percentage in a single season. By finishing the game with a .9381 mark, he surpassed Dominik Hasek’s .9366 save percentage in 1998-99. The stat first began being recorded in the 1982-83 season.

Marlborough native Bobby Butler scored the Senators’ only goal, beating Thomas at 18:27 of the first period.

With the win Saturday, the B’s are still alive to potentially take the second seed in the Eastern Conference, though they will need a combination of one or two points Sunday vs. the Devils and for the Penguins and Flyers to lose their final games in regulation or in overtime/shootout fashion.

WHAT WENT RIGHT FOR THE BRUINS

- Thomas’ performance this season has been nothing short of magnificent, so it’s fitting that he be remembered for it in the record books. It was just months ago that Tuukka Rask was the obvious choice to begin the season as the B’s starter. Ever since Thomas was given the second start of the season in Prague, he’s taken the opportunity and run to what should be his second Vezina Trophy.

- By playing in Saturday’s game, Mark Recchi moved past Chris Chelios for fourth all-time. He has played in 1652, and it could take nearly another full season for him to catch Ron Francis’ 1731.

- Paille once again submitted a strong case to be in the lineup next week. His tally on Saturday was his fourth goal in the last eight games. Considering he had just two goals on the season prior to that stretch, it’s a good sign.

- Shawn Thornton can hold his head high knowing he produced an even 20-point season offensively for the Bruins. His apple on Paille’s goal gave him 10 on the season to match his total of goals. This season has now produced career-highs in goals, assists and points. Thornton had never scored more than six goals in a season, though he did have nine helpers a year ago.

WHAT WENT WRONG FOR THE BRUINS

- While everyone was glad to see Horton score his 26th goal of the season, there was reason for concern when he left the ice following his second-period fight with Zack Smith. He would end up returning to the ice, but the last thing the Bruins would want would be for the hot-scoring Horton (six goals over his last nine games) to go down with an injury before the playoffs.

- While Paille may have cemented his suspected playing status for the beginning of the playoffs, Tyler Seguin did not do anything to help his case. The rookie was placed in the lineup Saturday in place of Patrice Bergeron, but the game provided more cases of the 19-year-old shying away from contact. Seguin was a minus-1 on the day.

The Bruins blew a three-goal lead Monday night at Madison Square Garden, falling victim to two late goals within 51 seconds to drop a 5-3 decision to the Rangers.

The Bruins jumped out to a 3-0 lead, as first-period goals from Daniel Paille and Nathan Horton were followed by Chris Kelly’s first goal as a Bruin at 10:32 of the second. The Rangers would quickly climb their way back into the game, getting a pair of second-period tallies from Vaclav Prospal, with Wojtek Wolski picking up assists on each goal. Brandon Dubinsky and Michael Sauer scored at 16:12 and 17:03, respectively, to tie it and take the lead in the third. Derek Stepan sealed it with an empty-netter.

WHAT WENT WRONG FOR THE BRUINS

- The Bruins knew the Rangers were a team desperate for a pair of points, and though they came out the stronger team, they took a nap after Kelly’s goal. All in all, the B’s ended up with just four shots on Lundqvist in the second period after putting 19 on net in the first period. The Rangers were playing a playoff game, and when the B’s are doing the same next week, they’ll need more of a 60-minute effort.

- The four goals allowed by Thomas were the most he’s given up since March 19, a span of six starts. Thomas didn’t seem to have it even before the Rangers opened it up, but their opportunities were so scarce early on that it seemed it could be smooth sailing for the Bruins’ netminder.

WHAT WENT RIGHT FOR THE BRUINS

- How do you sit Paille when Shawn Thornton returns? Tyler Seguin has shown at certain points recently that he deserves to be in the lineup come playoff time, but Paille is producing. The former first-round pick had a season-high four shots on goal.

- With Horton’s goal, he now has seven points over his last seven games. Twenty-five wasn’t the number that people had in mind when he came over here (a prediction of 30 would have been considered conservative before the season), but if he produces the way he has of late and not the way he did in the middle of the season, the Bruins won’t be able to complain.

- Kelly hasn’t exactly a statistical monster since being acquired in February (two points in 20 games; zero in his last 16), so his first goal with the B’s is both a welcomed and overdue sight.

- The B’s may not have gotten many shots on Lundqvist in the second period (see below), but they didn’t deal with as many blocked shots as they could have expected based on March 26. The last time the two teams met, the Rangers blocked 29 shots, 18 of which came in the third period.

Tim Thomas picked up his ninth shutout of the season Tuesday night as the Bruins blanked the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks, 3-0, at TD Garden.

Thomas made 32 saves on the night, improving his record to 33-10-8.

After a scoreless first period, the B’s got second-period tallies from Zdeno Chara and Johnny Boychuk. Nathan Horton provided the Bruins with some extra breathing room in the third period when he beat Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford his 24th of the season.

The win brought the B’s within three points of the Capitals for second place in the Eastern Conference, as Washington lost in a shootout Tuesday. The B’s have played 76 games to the Capitals’ 77. Should the teams end up finishing the season with the same point total, the Bruins would likely hold the tie-breaker, as they currently have more wins in games determined in regulation.

WHAT WENT RIGHT FOR THE BRUINS

- Mark Recchi now has 12th place on the list of career points all to himself. His assist on Johnny Boychuk’s goal gave him 1,532 points, breaking his tie with Paul Coffey. Recchi would need to play another season to get to Ray Bourque‘s 1579.

- Thomas was in danger of giving up the league lead in goals against average a couple of weeks ago, but his play of late has given him some separation from Nashville netminder Pekka Rinne. Thomas has allowed just one goal over his last three starts, the second time he has had such a three-game stretch. The Bruins did an excellent job of clearing loose pucks in front of the net from the get-go Tuesday, greatly helping Thomas’ cause.

- The interesting story line of Michael Ryder‘s healthy scratches could continue, as Paille has made good use of his spot in the lineup the last two games. Paille picked up a helper on Horton’s goal, getting the puck in front from behind the net.

- Don’t look now, but Johnny Boychuk has two goals in his last four games. Of course, he had just one goal on the season prior to his goal against the Canadiens last Thursday, so the chances anyone worries about his scoring touch aren’t very big.

WHAT WENT WRONG FOR THE BRUINS

- The Bruins did not have a power play the entire game. It was the eighth game that they have had one or zero power plays. Interestingly enough, they are 7-0-1 in those games.

- Shawn Thornton left the game in the second period after getting cut above the eye and did not return. Bleeding from the face, Thornton shoved referee Don VanMassenhoven as he was passing the Chicago bench on his way off the ice, seemingly because Blackhawks were chirping from the bench.

- Another night of solid play but no production from the third line. Tyler Seguin and Chris Kelly had an opportunity on Crawford in the first period, but Seguin’s pass in front of the net was just out of Kelly’s reach. Seguin has just one goal over his last 15 games.

Brad Marchand made his 20th goal of the season count, as he broke a late tie to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead over the Flyers in Philadelphia Sunday night. With the win, Boston clinches a playoff spot.

Marchand’s tally was his first in 13 games, as he banged home a rebound past Flyers netminder Brian Boucher on the power play at 16:17 of the third period. Both Bruins’ goals came on the man advantage, as Nathan Horton scored his 23rd goal of the season with the B’s on the power play in the second period. Kris Versteeg opened the game’s scoring with a tally for the Flyers in the first period.

Picking up the victory for the Bruins was Tim Thomas, who won his third game in a row and improved his record on the season to 32-10-8.

Turns out gloves didn’t need to be dropped in order for the Bruins to make a statement, as they lead the Canadiens, 3-0, after one.

Johnny Boychuk opened the scoring at 1:01, scoring his second goal of the season off a rebound from a Zdeno Chara shot. The B’s captain would also get an assist on Gregory Campbell’s tally, and with Boychuk also assisting, both blueliners have multi-point nights. Nathan Horton scored late in the period on the power play after drawing a high-sticking double-minor from Tomas Plekanec.

There were no fights in the period, and the Habs had two penalties to the Bruins’ one. After a bad turnover in his own zone, Dennis Seidenberg tripped Travis Moen in front of Tim Thomas’ net.With Seidenberg in the box, Chris Kelly had a great shift on the kill, laying out to disrupt a P.K. Subban slapshot and later drawing a Roman Hamrlik hold on a shorthanded bid.

The B’s are outshooting the Habs, 18-9.

WILMINGTON — By now, Nathan Horton‘s reputation with the media is well-known. Very friendly, asks you how you’re doing before he answers a single question, and thanks you for your time after you’ve spoken with him. Rarely is he caught without a smile on his face, but when it comes to dropping the gloves on the ice, his facial expression turns to borderline maniacal.

Horton had every reason to remain angry after his fight Saturday with Dion Phaneuf. The Toronto captain elected to leave his helmet on in the third-period bout, and took the decision against Horton, who had already removed his helmet.

After the game, Don Cherry blasted Phaneuf on Hockey Night in Canada, and it would be understandable if Horton, who sported stitches on his right eyebrow Sunday, had something to say about it as well. Instead, Horton took the high road.

“I don’t even remember the game,” Horton, who is generally elaborate with his answers, said. “It’s done with.”

Instead of discussing whose helmets were left on during fights, Horton is more concerned with the team getting back on track after dropping six of their last seven games.

“When you’re not winning, it’s not fun to come to the rink like [before],” he said. “When we were winning it was fun. Obviously right now, things aren’t going our way, and it’s been tough.”

Tyler Seguin was given just 9:57 of ice time Tuesday night, but he co-starred with Tuukka Rask in a 3-2 shootout victory over the Blue Jackets that ended a four-game losing streak.

The Bruins fell behind in the final minute of the first period when Grant Clitsome sent a blast from the blue line past Rask, but a Zdeno Chara shot that went off David Krejci would tie it in the second. With the Bruins trailing in the third period and Nathan Horton in the box for holding the stick, Rich Peverley scored the B’s eighth shorthanded goal of the season, beating Steve Mason for his 16th goal of the season.

Rask, who had 32 saves in regulation, made timely saves in the third period in stopping Jakub Voracek, Antoine Vermette, Derick Brassard and Derek Dorsett on key Blue Jackets opportunities. He followed that by stopping Rick Nash and Fedor Tyutin in the shootout.

The Bruins will head to Nashville to face the Predators on Thursday.

WHAT WENT RIGHT FOR THE BRUINS

- While benching Michael Ryder may have opened some eyes, there’s no debating that the Bruins are in better shape for a shootout with Seguin in the lineup. The rookie has struggled to pin down the NHL game physically, but when it comes to skating down the ice untouched, talent trumps all.

- The Bruins may have not seen much time on the power play, but they scored more than Columbus on Blue Jackets power plays. The B’s killed off all six penalties they took, with Peverley scoring the timely short-handed goal.

- Either Milan Lucic or Krejci were bound to see their point streaks continue due to the B’s first goal, and after a scoring change it proved to be Krejci. Lucic hit Johnny Boychuk with a pass in the offensive zone, with Boychuk setting up a Chara blast that went off Krejci before sailing past Steve Mason. Though Lucic didn’t get an assist on the play, he still has six points (2 G, 4 A) in his last six games. Krejci now has at least one point in each of his last six games, and eight points (2 G, 6 A) over the span.

- Good to see Rask play the role of stopper, as he picked up the Bruins’ first win in five games. The Bruins’ four-game skid was the ninth time this season the team had lost at least two games in a row. Of the previous eight occurrences, Tim Thomas had gotten the win that followed the first five losing streaks, with Rask now serving as the stopper in the last four. That’s a combination of both coincidence and the fact that Claude Julien is giving his young goaltender more time down the stretch.

- Mark Recchi continues the climb up the list for most games played. Tuesday, he surpassed former Bruin Dave Andreychuk, and at 1,640 games, Recchi is now fifth all-time.

WHAT WENT WRONG FOR THE BRUINS

- The Bruins had just one power play in the game, and it lasted all of five seconds. Patrice Bergeron took an interference penalty following the face-off that began an Antione Vermette hooking minor. The team’s power play struggles have been well-documented (just one power play goal since Feb. 28), and having just five seconds on the man advantage isn’t exactly the right way to remedy them.

- Scottie Upshall continues to haunt Rask. Nice puck-movement by his line drew Rask way out of his net with less than eight minutes to go, and Upshall easily put his 20th of the season into an unoccupied net. The goal was his third goal against Rask in three games facing him.

- That’s now two games in a row in which Nathan Horton has taken a penalty in the final seven minutes of the game with the Bruins trailing. Horton was called for interference at 13:12 of the third period against the Islanders on Saturday, and he went off at 13:06 for holding the stick. Of course, the Bruins ended up tying the game with Horton in the box, but it certainly isn’t the type of habit the B’s want to develop. Krejci would later be called for a cross-check with 4:34 remaining.