Kobasew collects goals - and style points

Chuck Kobasew's second-period goal, which he scored from one knee, brought many in the Garden crowd to their feet. (Barry Chin/Globe Staff)

In the second period of the Bruins' 4-3 shootout win over the Rangers yesterday, Chuck Kobasew scored one of the sharpest goals of his career.

Kobasew, sprung by an up-the-gut pass from Zdeno Chara, gained a step on Michal Roszival, forcing the defenseman to plant a stick in the winger's gut and hook him down.

But even from one knee, Kobasew had enough muscle behind his shot to get it past goalie Henrik Lundqvist at 15:52 to give Boston a 2-1 lead.

At that point, Kobasew was just sniffing for any type of goal, highlight-quality or garbage. He had been stone-cold, going eight games without a goal and last scoring Dec. 28 in a 4-3 loss to Carolina.

But Kobasew busted out of his slump yesterday, tacking on a game-tying third-period goal.

"It felt like quite a while," said Kobasew. "It was nice to get one there and in the third period."

Forward Sean Avery scored during a two-man advantage in the third period to make it a 3-2 New York lead. But ex-Bruin Paul Mara was whistled for interference at 8:55, giving Boston its sixth power play.

Boston kicked off the rally when Dennis Wideman made a crisp first pass out of his zone to Marco Sturm at the red line. The speedy left wing spotted a hole in the New York defense and accelerated through the penalty killers, getting off a shot that Lundqvist stopped.

"I saw him coming through the neutral zone," said Kobasew. "It looked like he was coming with a lot of speed. We all know he's a fast player. I don't know if he split the D or went around them. But he created that chance."

Kobasew, trailing the play, jammed home Sturm's rebound at 9:30 for his team-leading 16th goal, sending the game into overtime.

"It's close in the standings and we have a little weekend series here, so it was a big game," said Kobasew.

A giving bunch

The third line of Vladimir Sobotka, David Krejci, and Pascal Pelletier, who have all played more games in Providence this season than in Boston, didn't record a point yesterday.

But their coach knew that didn't translate to a poor effort.

"They've done a great job," said Claude Julien. "They're not only working hard, but they're dominating, winning battles, and creating scoring chances. Unfortunately, they haven't been rewarded yet, but they've certainly given us everything. And probably more than we've asked."

Sobotka led the third-line players with three shots.

Murray on trip

Glen Murray, who missed his 12th straight game with a hip flexor strain, accompanied the team after the match to New York and also will travel to Montreal. Julien said Murray, who's been skating on his own, is ready to practice with his teammates, although his return to action is still indefinite. The Bruins are scheduled to practice Monday in Montreal at Bell Centre before Tuesday's match against the Canadiens. "It's been good," said Murray. "Just take it day by day." . . . Peter Schaefer participated in pregame warm-ups but missed his second straight game because of flu-like symptoms . . . Tim Thomas made his first start yesterday since acquiring the virus that has been plaguing the team lately. "I feel fantastic compared to three or four days ago," said Thomas (25 saves), whose last start came Jan. 10 against Montreal. "I'm still feeling a little sick. This is my eighth day, so you can imagine how some of these other guys feel."

Moving up

In the previous Boston-New York tilt (a 1-0 shootout victory for Boston Oct. 20), Glen Metropolit and Milan Lucic skated on the fourth line. Because of injuries, they have played on the second line the last two games . . . Lucic (broken nose) wore a visor yesterday. He went with a full cage Thursday against Toronto . . . Phil Kessel now has six winning goals in shootouts. He is 6 for 12 during his career in shootouts . . . Kessel missed two shots yesterday, giving him a total of nine misses in the last four games . . . Julien is the latest victim of the virus that has plagued the team. He scrubbed Friday's practice in hopes of containing the illness. "I don't think that practice would have helped us more than the rest did in the situation that we're in," said Julien.

Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com.