Bruins goaltender Jonas Gustavsson was taken to the hospital on Tuesday night for “precautionary reasons due to an elevated heart rate,’’ according to an update issued by the club Wednesday evening.

Gustavsson, who started against the Ducks on Tuesday, was removed after the first period and taken to Massachusetts General Hospital. The Bruins said only that he left with an “illness.’’ He remained in the hospital overnight for testing, according to the release, and was released.

“All preliminary tests came back negative and he was discharged Wednesday afternoon,’’ the release stated. “Jonas is expected to rejoin the team after the NHL All-Star break pending clearance from the Bruins medical staff.’’

The heart issue is of particular concern for the 31-year-old Gustavsson, who has had at least three surgeries to treat a condition that caused an abnormal rhythm. The third surgery occurred in February of 2011, and was a “minor heart ablation,’’ according to information from the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team Gustavsson was playing with at the time. It was his third procedure in 16 months.

That surgery occurred after he was taken out of an AHL game with an elevated heart rate.

Gustavsson allowed two goals in the first period, then was replaced by Tuukka Rask for the remainder of the game of Tuesday’s game. The Bruins lost, 6-2.

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The Bruins got a day off Wednesday as they headed into the All-Star break, a time to rest up, to heal up, to contemplate who they are and where they’re going as team. Though, of course, they will also have a bit of a bitter taste in their mouths.

Finishing their pre-All-Star slate with a loss was obviously not part of the plan, but still the Bruins found themselves in playoff position Wednesday morning, sitting in the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Still, had they won against Anaheim, they would have had the chance to move up in the standings.

That, as Zach Trotman said, was “a little disappointing. I think it’s going to leave the guys itching a little over the All-Star break.’’

Because they know that that third-place position, like all in the East, is tenuous. The teams are closely bunched (with the exception of the Capitals), and there is room to move up or down seemingly every night. That doesn’t seem likely to change as the Bruins head into a post-All-Star schedule that includes their longest road trip of the season, a six-game doozy through the Midwest and South.

“I think we’ve surprised a lot of people, you know, [but] we’re not surprised with where we are,’’ Torey Krug said. “We had a goal to be in the top three before the All-Star break and we’re sitting right there.

“So we definitely know we’ve left the points on the table in certain games throughout the season, but at the end of the year we don’t want to look back and regret some of these games.

“So we’re going to take it game by game in the second half and see where it goes from there.’’

The hope, as Ryan Spooner said, is for more consistency. And that is especially true at home, where, after losing to the Ducks Tuesday, the Bruins are just 11-13-2.

But there were lessons even in that game against the Ducks, as dispiriting as it was for Boston.

“As we come down the stretch with the playoff race so tight, I think we have to be comfortable to play in those tight games, in those heavy games where it’s a battle of will,’’ Krug said. “And you have to come out with more puck battles and come out on top of those. So as we come down the stretch, we have to get used to that.

“Part of it is experience, and part of it is having the right mind-set to go in willing to battle and to show up to do that. So you know it’ll come together, and we just have to make sure it doesn’t take too long. We just have to start winning these games and especially on home ice.’’

Still, there are positives. The Bruins have gotten 2 points in five of their last seven games, with their losses coming to Anaheim and Vancouver.

“I think there is still a lot of room for improvement for us,’’ Rask said.

For now, though, they rest. Or, at least, most of them.

The only member of the Bruins who will not get to spend the next few days resting and recuperating is Patrice Bergeron, who was selected for his second consecutive (and second overall) All-Star Game. He will head to Nashville for the new three-on-three event.

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The Bruins assigned David Pastrnak to Providence “simply so he can skate and play one game during the break to keep bringing a young player along with his development,’’ according to general manager Don Sweeney. Providence plays at home on Friday, before being off for the AHL All-Star Game until Feb. 5. Pastrnak missed close to eight weeks this season because of a fracture in his foot. He has five goals and four assists in 18 games this season.

Amalie Benjamin can be reached at abenjamin@globe.com.