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BOSTON (AP) _ The Atlanta Thrashers looked like a tired team before they made the Boston Bruins scramble for a point.

Mike Knuble scored a power-play goal with 5:14 left in the third period to lift the Bruins into a 2-2 tie with Atlanta on Saturday night.

``Two thirds of the game they were the ones chasing us,'' Knuble said. ``Then all of a sudden we're chasing them.''

The Thrashers, who lost a tough overtime game at home to Carolina on a short-handed goal Friday night, woke up after two listless periods. Atlanta scored two power-play goals in the opening seven minutes of the third to take a 2-1 lead.

During the opening 10 minutes of the third, Atlanta outshot Boston 14-1.

``We stayed very patient,'' Thrashers coach Bob Hartley said.

Dany Heatley and Shawn McEachern scored power-play goals for 11th-place Atlanta, which remained nine points behind the eighth-place New York Islanders for the last Eastern Conference playoff spot.

The Bruins is 13-0-2-1 when leading after one period.

``Obviously we don't feel good about the effort we had,'' Boston's Brian Rolston said. ``We were glad to get the point after they went up 2-1, but we let them hang around too long.''

Boston outshot Atlanta 17-11 in the opening two periods and limited the Thrashers to very few good chances.

Knuble took a pass from defenseman Nick Boynton in the slot, shifted, and slipped a short shot by Pasi Nurminen for the tying goal.

``I think he's the unsung hero on his line,'' Boston coach Mike Sullivan said of Knuble, who plays alongside All-Stars Joe Thornton and Glen Murray. ``He does all the dirty work for those guys. He's a terrific two-way player that does all the little things.''

Knuble had an assist on the first goal and registered his 200th career point with his goal.

Boston had the best chance in overtime when Thornton cut in for a short shot that Nurminen stopped with his body with 32 seconds to play.

``I'm unhappy that we were leading 2-1 (and ended up tied), but it's a big point for us,'' Nurminen said.

Heatley matched his career-high with a point for the seventh straight game by tipping Slava Kozlov's shot past goalie Andrew Raycroft to move the Thrashers ahead 2-1 seven minutes into the third.

Sergei Gonchar scored 6:24 into the first period, giving Boston a 1-0 lead when he one-timed Knuble's pass with a shot that caromed in off the right post. It was Gonchar's second goal in two games with the Bruins after being acquired in a trade with Washington on Wednesday.

McEachern took a loose puck near the right circle after Boston defenseman Jiri Slegr misplayed it and scored on his own rebound, tying it 2:03 into the third.

``When we got the first goal, we started playing better and better,'' Nurminen said. ``It took a couple of periods to warm up, then we score our first goal. After that we were taking over the game.''

The Thrashers nearly took the lead less than two minutes later, but Raycroft made a save with his right pad on Serge Aubin's breakaway.

Gonchar leads NHL defenseman in scoring with nine goals and 42 assists.

The Thrashers went 2-for-5 on the power play after failing in nine opportunities in a 3-2 loss Friday.