Heading into Thursday’s contest with the Ottawa Senators, the Bruins knew a regulation win would be ideal in their search for home-ice advantage for the opening round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

After an impressive first period where they jumped out to a 1-0 lead thanks to Drew Stafford’s eighth of the season, the Bruins found themselves sleepwalking through the game’s final two periods and overtime frame, en route to the 2-1 shootout loss. A win that clinched a playoff spot for the Ottawa Senators.

Luckily for the Bruins, the Tampa Bay Lightning took down the Maple Leafs 4-1 in Toronto to keep their playoff hopes alive. With Toronto’s loss, the Bruins remain in the third spot in the Atlantic Division until at least Saturday when they wrap up their regular season as they play host to the Washington Capitals. A Bruins win on Saturday would secure a top-3 spot in the division.

The Senators conclude their season Saturday and Sunday with contests against the New York Rangers at home, and in Brooklyn against the Islanders. Toronto finishes its slate with home games against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday and Sunday respectively. A win by the Senators or a loss by the Maple Leafs means the Sens can do no worse than the Atlantic’s third seed for next week’s playoffs.

Here is what we learned in Boston’s second to last regular season game of 2016-17.

Brad Marchand doesn’t care about your opinion:

After being handed a two-game suspension this afternoon following his spear of Jake Dotchin in Tuesday’s victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning, Marchand met with the media to address the suspension that forced him to miss Thursday’s loss to the Senators as well as Saturday’s regular season finale against the Washington Capitals.

Marchand has taken a lot of heat after the incident and deservingly so. From local sports talk radio to out of market media, Marchand has been a hot topic around the sports world. But for Marchand, the opinions of those outside of the Bruins’ dressing room don’t concern him very much.

“I’m not very concerned about how anyone really feels, outside of the room. Things happen in hockey,” the Bruins’ leading scorer said prior to Thursday’s contest. “The only people I care about in this world are my teammates and my family, and I think they have different thoughts about me, so everyone is entitled to their opinion.”

Wrong choice for 7th player:

The Bruins’ 7th player award is giving annually to the Bruins player that exceeds expectations for that particular season. Recent winners include Marchand, David Pastrnak, Reilly Smith, Dougie Hamilton and Tyler Seguin.

Heading into Thursday’s ceremony Dominic Moore was the odds on favorite. Once again, Bruins fans got it wrong. Instead of Moore, Pastrnak was voted winner for the second time in three years.

After 15 goals in 51 games a season ago, and a young quickly developing talent, 34 goals shouldn’t be much of a surprise. On the other hand, if anyone says they expected 11 goals out of Moore, they are simply lying to you. Moore has above and beyond exceeded expectations. Heck, I’m sure if you ask Moore himself, he will tell you he’s even exceeded his own expectations.

Drew Stafford gets back on track:

Regardless of how he performs in the playoffs, it’s safe to say the Stafford trade was a success.

After scoring twice in his first four games after being traded to the Bruins from the Winnipeg Jets, Stafford went on a bit of a cold streak, failing to light the lamp in 11 consecutive games. Stafford had just one assist in that span.

But with important playoff positioning on the line, Stafford has bounced back in the Bruins’ last two games, notching the game’s opening goal in each.

Bruins lose Torey Krug early in the first:

After logging just 2:32 of ice time in the first period, Krug left the ice for the Bruins’ dressing room where shortly after that it was announced that he would not return with what was deemed a lower-body injury. It was tough to tell where the injury occurred. He did appear to get caught up with Senators forward Viktor Stalberg during a puck battle on his final shift.

Interim head coach Bruce Cassidy had no update on the status of Krug who was seen leaving TD Garden with a bulky brace on his knee and with the assistance of crutches.

“All I got is lower body,” Cassidy said during his postgame press conference. “Obviously he couldn’t return, so you know, that’s never good. But, I imagine it will be released at some point but I don’t have any information for you, sorry. We missed him.”

Senators sweep season series over Bruins:

With Thursday’s victory over the Bruins, the Senators complete the season sweep of the Black and Gold. With a first-round playoff matchup next week very likely, the B’s will need to figure out a way to get past the Sens.

“Our record of 0-4 doesn’t really tell the real story, I think. Other than the first game in their building, I think we could have gotten at least two games for sure, especially at home,” a frustrated David Krejci said following the loss. “So, if it happens that we play them, I feel confident in this team that we can get the job done. But, we still have a game to play on Saturday and next week is next week.”