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Pekka Rinne made 28 saves for his fifth shutout of the season, Francis Bouillon scored at 4:28 of the third period, and the Nashville Predators beat the Dallas Stars 2-0 on Thursday night to grab back control of their playoff slot with their third win in four games.
With the win and Detroit losing 2-1 to New Jersey, Nashville moved back into fourth in the Western Conference, a point a head of the Red Wings. Now the Predators need only wrap up the regular season Saturday night at Colorado with a win to start the playoffs at home and finish ahead of Detroit for the first time in franchise history.
Patric Hornqvist had an assist and clinched the win with a goal with 2 minutes left.
The Stars lost their fourth straight in being eliminated. The Stars came in ninth and needed at least a point, but the loss allowed Los Angeles and Phoenix to clinch berths and put San Jose on the verge.