BOSTON \u2013 Another night, another step closer in the Bruins\u2019 playoff push.<\/p>\n
The Boston Bruins<\/a> (43-24-8) beat the Dallas Stars (44-19-12) 6-3 at the TD Garden, and a four-goal third period pulled the game away for the Bruins. Viktor Arvidsson<\/a> notched a hat trick, Elias Lindholm<\/a> scored his first power-play goal since January 22, and Henri Jokiharju<\/a> scored his first as a Bruin.\u00a0<\/p>\n Viktor Arvidsson\u2019s hat trick is his first since March 2022, when he was with the Los Angeles Kings. It was also a special day in the Arvidsson household.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, my oldest [daughter] is turning five, so that was pretty cool, I got a hat trick on her birthday,\u201d Arvidsson said after the game.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n He smiled when asked if she would get the puck.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Arvidsson now has 10 goals since the Olympic break, second to Pavel Zacha<\/a> (13), and he is a team-leading plus-14. He was quick to speak up and say he had an easy hat trick, but three goals were the difference on Tuesday night.\u00a0<\/p>\n Arvidsson banked two goals<\/a> on an empty net<\/a>, but both were shot from behind center ice. His other one<\/a> was from David Pastrnak<\/a>, who finished the night with three assists.<\/p>\n Coming out of the break, Elias Lindholm had three points in 12 games. He has seven in the last six games, including five goals.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe was good. Not just tonight. I think since he\u2019s in that C3 hole now, I feel like he\u2019s, and also Lukas, you know, Geeks. I feel like he has more freedom now. He plays more his game,\u201d Marco Sturm said about Lindholm.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s definitely healthy now, back to being healthy. Don\u2019t forget that. He was going to the Olympics, he was not 100%<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Marco Sturm on Elias Lindholm: \u201cHe was good. Not just tonight. I think since he\u2019s in that C3 hole now, I feel like he\u2019s, and also Lukas, you know, Geeks. I feel like he has more freedom now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s definitely healthy now, back to being healthy. Don\u2019t forget that. He was going\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/EldJ6MewwO<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Jack Studley (@jackstudley13) April 1, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The Bruins jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first, but the Stars tied the game in the second.<\/p>\n Elias Lindholm\u2019s power-play goal<\/a> on Tuesday was his first since January 22, and it shifted momentum back to Boston.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFirst period, we played well,\u201d Lindholm said after the game. \u201cSecond period, we kind of, you know, obviously we knew they were going to come out better, and we kind of went down a little bit. I thought they played some good hockey. And that 3-2 goal right away, it was huge.\u201d<\/p>\n The goal came just 13 seconds into the period, and the Bruins scored twice more before the Stars scored their third goal.\u00a0<\/p>\n Henri Jokiharju then tallied his first goal<\/a> in a Bruins sweater. He was acquired at the 2025 Trade Deadline and has played in 57 games.\u00a0<\/p>\n He has never played in a playoff game in his NHL career, spending his first year with the Chicago Blackhawks and the next six in Buffalo.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOh, for sure. For sure, [it means] a lot,\u201d Jokiharju said<\/a> about contributing to a playoff push. \u201cBut, you know, like I said before, it\u2019s a huge, huge win for us. Obviously, it feels good to get those personal things and points. But at this time of the year, I really enjoyed playing. I\u2019ve never actually played these kind of games before this end of the year. So it\u2019s awesome. And just, you know, it\u2019s so much [of a] different feeling than before.\u201d<\/p>\n After losing at home against Toronto, the Bruins faced four straight teams in the playoff picture. They won all four, and their playoff chances improved.<\/p>\n \u201cThe good thing is that, you know, everyone was talking about, and it\u2019s true though, everyone was talking about the schedule, you know, the Bruins have the toughest schedule,\u201d Sturm said. \u201cYeah, I believe that too. But what I liked about it is we always seems like play better when we are playing against better teams, and for us, the playoffs already started a long time ago. That\u2019s the good thing about our team right now. We want to get challenged right now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI do believe so,\u201d Sturm said when asked if the players believe they can beat any team. \u201cI think that really, guys are believing [in] themselves, and they know we are a good, solid team.\u201d<\/p>\n The Bruins also had some help across the board. They now rank six points ahead of the Blue Jackets for the second wild card; Columbus lost on Tuesday. Ottawa, Detroit, and Philadelphia also lost on Tuesday; they are all chasing the second wild card.<\/p>\n According to MoneyPuck<\/a>, the Bruins\u2019 playoff odds are now at 98.2%. The magic number is now nine, according to Hockey Magic Numbers<\/a>. The Bruins have seven games remaining.\u00a0<\/p>\n Their next is against the Florida Panthers<\/a> (36-35-13), who have been battered with injuries<\/a> and rank last in the Atlantic Division.\u00a0<\/p>\n FOLLOW @JACKSTUDLEY13 ON \ud835\udd4f<\/a>\u00a0 | FOLLOW @BOSHockeyNow ON \ud835\udd4f<\/a>