If you think Thursday night's 3-2 shootout victory for the Thrashers over the Bruins (recap) a letdown, you are mistaken. No, it wasn't lopsided in the fashion that either of the teams' two previous meetings were, but it was one of the hardest games the Bruins have played this season.

Continued was the impressive play of the Blake Wheeler-David Krejci-Michael Ryder line, and wouldn't you know it? The other lines decided to join in on the forecheck. The Bruins were offensively potent, with the likes of Wheeler (goal, team-high five shots on goal) leading the charge. 

In their four games since being reunited, the members of Krejci's line have combined for nine points. The Bruins, meanwhile, haven't had a regulation loss since switching up the lines after last Monday's 3-0 loss to Anaheim. 

The game was Tim Thomas' seventh start in a row. He said following the game that he couldn't see either of the Thrashers' regulation goals, both of which were Tobias Enstrom shots from the point on the power play. The B's netminder credited Enstrom with being able to hide behind screens to make Thomas' night harder. Thomas made 30 saves on the night. 

Here's the Hat Trick:

A HARD-EARNED POINT

Getting a point out of a game that a team technically loses will never be totally natural. One team celebrates on the ice, but both squads gain something from the result. Either way, the B's have no reason to hang their heads after Thursday's contest.

"I think, more than anything, you scratch your head and ask yourself how you don't get two points. Sometimes you don't play half as good [as tonight] and you win games, 4-0," Blake Wheeler told reporters after the game. "That's the way the way the game works. … I know we played really well and have been playing really well since Christmas break."

Claude Julien agreed, telling NESN afterward that the Bruins "should have won that hockey game."

This wasn't a shootout loss in which the Bruins were just able to hang around long enough. Their offense was buzzing, but unfortunately happened to swarm to the net of a very good Ondrej Pavelec. The Thrashers' netminder made 42 saves on 44 shots. 

What the game — and not necessarily the result — did indicate was that this Bruins team didn't just win a couple of games in Florida by chance. This team is playing confident hockey, and the type of hockey many before the season were assuming they would play. There's energy, there's offensive drive, and there's Thomas.  

Up next for the Bruins is the Sabres, who have lost four of their last six games and haven't played since Tuesday. 

HORTON WATCH: A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

The struggles for Nathan Horton don't appear to be over, but Thursday was one of the better games he's had since embarking upon his slump. He's jonesing to snap out of it, and gave a much harder effort against the Thrashers. Still, as the final seconds of overtime expired, into the books went yet another game in which Horton had only one shot on goal. Combine that with his four games of zero shots on net, and there have now been 13 games this season in which he's gotten no more than one puck to the net. 

With everyone keeping a close eye on Horton during his slump (he has now gone eight games without scoring a goal), it's worth pointing out that Thursday was a more encouraging effort. Although he gave a better performance, he had no hits for the second straight game, and his line still isn't scoring. 

The lack of recent success for Horton isn't the "attitude" card he seemed to carry with him in Florida — he's probably got as positive an attitude as anyone you'll find — it's motivation, and those are two very different things. 

This isn't a case of a guy crossing his arms and refusing to hit anyone or put more (or any) shots on net. It's a case of a capable player who simply hasn't been able to bring it from shift to shift or night to night. Thursday, without showing up anywhere statistically but the penalty box (a second period tripping penalty), Horton gave an example of the improved play the Bruins are looking for. He was able to force his way to the front of the net, and he had a couple of good opportunities in the third period. 

"I think it was better. Unfortunately they were not on the score sheet again tonight, but they had some chances, the three of them," Julien said of the top line following the game. "Hopefully it just gets better, because obviously we need those guys to produce for us."

CREATING SPACE

Though the league hasn't quite reached the halfway mark of the season yet, the Bruins have to be liking where they stand right now. Since jumping into first place of the Northeast division, not only have they held onto it, but they have put three points of space between them and the Canadiens. 

On Thursday, the Habs fell, 4-1, to the Lightning in Tampa. With the point the Bruins picked up vs. the Thrashers, the B's now have 45 points. Since the Bruins tied the Canadiens' mark of 42 on Monday, the Habs have been unable to pick up a point. 

The Bruins still have played two games less than the Canadiens this season. They also benefit from how bad a division the Northeast has been. If playoff spots were determined solely by points, the Bruins would be the seventh team in the East, though all six teams with higher point totals have played at least one more game than them.