It was a pretty simple proposition for Zdeno Chara.

The Bruins captain could have tried to beat Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov in the shootout with a slick move, or he could have unleashed a week's worth of frustration with a point-blank slap shot.

Chara chose wisely.

Skating into the slot, Chara raised his stick back and blasted an overwhelming shot past Nabokov for the only goal of the shootout, helping lift the Bruins to a 2-1 victory over San Jose Thursday night.

Tim Thomas still needed to punctuate a 41-save night by making a sharp glove save on Patrick Marleau after Chara’s goal to secure the remarkable shootout win for the B’s.

Prior to the contest, Boston learned it would lose yet another center as David Krejci was scratched from the lineup with an undisclosed injury. The Bruins were already skating without top centers Patrice Bergeron and Marc Savard.

Yet, despite facing substantial adversity, the team skated with plenty of resolve and dug in to end a three-game losing streak by beating on the NHL’s best squads.

“There’s no doubt we gave everything we had tonight. By the end of the game we had guys on the bench who were totally exhausted,” Bruins coach Claude Julien told reporters after the game. “We needed a lot of things to happen tonight, and most of them did.”

Here are three things to evaluate as the B’s head back to Southern California and look to close out their three game California road trip with similar success against the Kings in Los Angeles Saturday.

THOMAS WAS AT HIS BEST AND HE GOT SOME HELP

While Thomas was sprawling around the crease making several of his trademark acrobatic saves, the Bruins also provided their goalie some very well-timed help blocking shots.

In the second period, Denis Wideman managed to kick aside a shot by Marleau when Thomas was out of position to make a save. Marco Sturm did the same in the third period.

The Bruins blocked 22 San Jose shots, with 12 different players getting into the shot-blocking spirit. Derek Morris led the way with five.

A STRONG PERFORMANCE BY PAILLE

With Bruins forwards leaving the lineup on a daily basis, Daniel Paille picked a great night for one of his strongest games of the season.

After dropping a 4-3 game in Anaheim to open their California trip on Wednesday, the Bruins needed to find some positive momentum against the Western Conference-leading Sharks.

With the game scoreless in the second period, Shawn Thornton intercepted a Doug Murray clearing pass near the San Jose blue line and quickly moved the puck to Paille, whose shot deflected off the skate of Dan Boyle into the net, giving the Bruins the lead.

Paille was not done. He helped create several other scoring chances, including a couple of shorthanded opportunities while helping to shut down a pair of San Jose power plays in the third period.

Paille finished the night leading the Bruins with seven shots on goal.

JUMBO JOE IS NO SLOUCH

During his Bruins days, Sharks center Joe Thornton was often criticized for not setting up shop in the slot, as if skilled centers in the league still operate like Phil Esposito did 35-40 years ago.

With the Bruins leading 1-0 Thursday, Jumbo Joe jumped into the crease to tap in loose rebound of a Dan Boyle shot, tying the game midway through the second period. There was nothing passive about Thornton’s style on that play. He also locked down Boston centers, winning a ridiculous 20-of-26 faceoffs.

Far from being a soft forward, Thornton has been an extraordinarily durable athlete. He has played in all 352 Sharks game since he was acquired in the Nov. 30, 2005, trade with the Bruins. Moreover, since the trade with Boston, only Alex Ovechkin has generated more points (452) than Thornton (449) and the Sharks have the second best wining percentage (68.1) in the league.

He may not have fit whatever mold the Bruins were looking for, but it’s tough to say Thornton doesn’t have game.