Gaborik lifted a backhander over Tuukka Rask after Rask had made two saves in the closing seconds.
The Rangers strengthen their lead on first place in the East, as they are now up two points on the Bruins, who do pick up a point for the overtime loss.
Boston won't have to wait long to get back to work, as they head down to Philadelphia to face the Flyers on Sunday.
Overtime, 2:50, 2-2: The Bruins will play the rest of this one down a man as Andrew Ference is given a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct after hitting Ryan McDonagh into the boards behind the Rangers net. McDonagh was hurt on the play.
Overtime, 0:00, 2-2: The extra session is under way at the Garden, where there will be five minutes of sudden-death action with the sides skating 4 on 4.
End Regulation, 2-2: This one won't be settled in 60 minutes. We're headed to overtime tied at 2-2 here at the Garden.
Third Period, 17:29, 2-2: The Bruins with another solid effort on the penalty kill as Kelly returns to put the sides at even strength with under three minutes to play in regulation.
Third Period, 15:29, 2-2: The Bruins will have to kill off another penalty late as Chris Kelly is called for tripping Ryan Callahan.
Third Period, 14:18, 2-2: The Bruins with another dominant shift by the top line, keeping the Rangers pinned again in what looked like a power play at even strength. But Boston can't cash in on the chances with the go-ahead goal.
Third Period, 12:46, 2-2: The Bruins come through on the PK, killing off the penalty and actually creating the better scoring chances shorthanded.
Third Period, 10:46, 2-2: The Rangers get their first power-play chance of the game as David Krejci is called for tripping Brian Boyle. Huge kill for the Bruins here who have not yet had to call upon their PK in this one.
Third Period, 9:19, 2-2: Adam McQuaid drives hard to the net again, bumping Anton Stralman into Lundqvist in the process. That brings Prust flying in, but the linesmen don't let the scrum develop into anything further and no penalties are called.
Third Period, 7:18, 2-2: Milan Lucic gets the worst of a collision of big bodies just inside the Boston blue line as Brian Boyle levels him with a hit. The Rangers are one of the few teams that can match the Bruins in the physical department.
Third Period, 4:22, 2-2: The Bruins fail again to cash in on the power play as Prust exits the box and the sides are back at even strength.
Third Period, 2:22, 2-2: The Bruins now go on their fourth power play as Brandon Prust hits Chara from behind into the boards. Prust gets just a minor for boarding as the Bruins will try to finally take advantage of a power-play opportunity.
Third Period, 2:10, 2-2: Strong start for Bruins in the third, with the Krejci line keeping the Rangers hemmed in their zone for a long shift, eventually forcing an icing so New York cannot change out.
Third Period, 0:00, 2-2: The final frame is under way here at the Garden, where the Bruins and Rangers are once again locked in a tight one with first place in the East at stake.
Second Intermission Notes: Things opened up a bit in the second and both teams capitalized with a pair of goals, but all that scoring didn't change the deadlock as it remains tied 2-2.
The Bruins may have the momentum tough after Adam McQuaid tied it in the final minute of the second. The Bruins have activated their defense quite a bit in this one, with both goals coming from blueliners creeping down from the point. Andrew Ference had the first goal on a backhander in front as he drove all the way to the net.
That goal came less than a minute after Shawn Thornton dropped the gloves with Rangers heavyweight Mike Rupp. The Bruins definitely drew momentum from that scrap, once again showing how fighting remains an important and impactful part of the game.
Besides the fight, the physical play continued, with New York continuing to get the better of much of it. The Rangers have a 22-10 edge in hits, with Ryan Callahan (6 hits) and Brandon Prust (4 hits) combining to match the entire Bruins roster in that category. The Rangers have gotten into penalty trouble though, but Boston has not made them pay. They are 0 for 3 on the power play. The Rangers haven't had a chance with the man advantage yet, but that could change in the third as the refs seldom leave those chances so unbalanced.
End Second Period, 2-2: After a scoreless first, the Bruins and Rangers combined for four goals in the second, but it remains tied heading into the final frame.
Second Period, 19:11, 2-2: The Bruins tie it again on another goal from the defense as Adam McQuaid scores from the right circle.
McQuaid slipped in backside, picked a crossing pass out of midair, settled it and fired the shot home.
Second Period, 18:37, Rangers 2-1: Rask with a big stop on Brad Richards at the top of the crease to keep this one a one-goal game late in the second.
Second Period, 16:07, Rangers 2-1: The Rangers use their timeout to settle things down a bit before a faceoff in the New York end. The Bruins have surged back a bit to create some chances after New York retook the lead.
Second Period, 14:30, Rangers 2-1: The Rangers retake the lead as Marian Gaborik takes advantage of a fortunate bounce and beats Rask with a one-timer.
Carl Hagelin's initial shot was blocked by Seidenberg, but the puck popped up and landed at Gaborik's feet and he fired in a quick shot from the left slot.
Second Period, 10:06, 1-1: There will be some 4-on-4 play as Joe Corvo and Brandon Prust both head to the box. Corvo gets the gate for tripping, Prust for diving for embellishing the call.
Second Period, 9:33, 1-1: The Bruins do everything but score as the Pouliot-Kelly-Peverley line is all over the Rangers with multiple bids, but can't put home the go-ahead goal.
Second Period, 7:52, 1-1: Milan Lucic with a strong drive to the net, then tries to stuff in a rebound off a point shot. Lucic also picked up assist on Ference goal. He's bringing the effort in this one. solid, physical game from top line so far.
Second Period, 3:28, 1-1: The Bruins get the boost from the bout as Andrew Ference ties the game less than a minute after the fight.
Ference drives to the net, takes a pass from Krejci in front, shifts to the backhand and beats Lundqvist.
Second Period, 2:44, Rangers 1-0: The gloves come off as Shawn Thornton tries to spark his club by challenge Rangers heavyweight Mike Rupp. Both land some good shots in a spirited exchange. Rupp may have had the better blows, but thornton got the building back into this one. now it's a matter of seeing which team gets any momentum out of that one.
Second Period, 1:31, Rangers 1-0: The Bruins fail to convert that power play as well, and Ryan Callahan scores right out of the box to give the Rangers the lead.
Callahan left the penalty box, collected a loose puck at center ice and led a 2 on 1 with Brandon Prust. Callahan came down the left wing and took the shot from the circle, beating Rask inside the near post.
Second Period, 0:00, 0-0: The middle frame is under way here at the Garden, with the Bruins on the power play for another 1:22 to start this period.
First Intermission Notes: The Bruins and Rangers battled to a scoreless draw in that first period. Both teams had eight shots, but the Bruins also had eight other attempts blocked. That's long been a specialty of the Rangers, though it's a painful one. Zdeno Chara has yet to get a shot through on five attempts, with four blocked and another wide. Stepping in front of a Chara blast shows the kind of commitment the Rangers have in this one, and the Bruins will have to match that.
There's been plenty of physical play, but the Rangers have had the advantage in that category. New York has 14 hits to just five for Boston. Brandon Prust and Ryan Callahan lead the way with three apiece, while Milan Lucic had landed a pair of big hits for Boston.
Another quiet period for Brad Marchand in his second game back from his suspension. He should be thriving in a physical game like this, but has been pretty invisible. He had no shots and no hits to go with two giveaways in 5:16.
End First Period, 0-0: The opening 20 minutes are in the books and it remains a scoreless stalemate at the Garden after a physical first frame.
First Period, 19:21, 0-0: The Bruins get their third straight power play as Ryan Callahan goes off for tripping Chris Kelly deep in the Bruins zone. Boston has to take advantage of these chances in a scoreless game that's not likely to produce many goals.
First Period, 16:33, 0-0: The hitting continues as Lucic lands a big shot on Ryan Callahan, knocking the rangers captain to the ice and taking out another defender in the process. That followed Dubinsky taking a run at Krejci, but he missed and crashed heavily into the boards.
First Period, 15:01, 0-0: Tuukka Rask makes his first big save of the day, turning aside a shot up high to his blocker side from brad Richards in the slot.
First Period, 14:33, 0-0: The Bruins fail to convert that power-play chance as well. Not cashing in on these chances could come back to haunt Boston.
First Period, 12:33, 0-0: The Bruins go back on the power play as Marian Gaborik goes off from tripping Zdeno Chara at the blue line.
First Period, 12:06, 0-0: Good pace in this one early with plenty of hitting and up and down action, but not a lot of real quality chances on either netminder. The Rangers have a slim 5-4 edge in shots so far.
First Period, 7:46, 0-0: The Bruins can't convert that power-play chance as the sides return to even strength.
First Period, 5:46, 0-0: The Bruins will get the first power play of the day as Brandon Dubinsky goes off for roughing after a scrum around the Rangers net.
First Period, 2:10, 0-0: It's been a physical start to this one. Rich Peverley and Brandon Dubinsky exchanged cross-checks before the puck even dropped and Milan Lucic landed a big hit on Brandon Prust early.
First Period, 0:00, 0-0: And we're under way at the Garden, where the Bruins and Rangers meet for the first time this season with first place in the East at stake.
1 p.m.: The Bruins will open with the third line of Chris Kelly between Benoit Pouliot and Rich Peverley up front, with Dennis Seidenberg and Adam McQuaid on defense and Tuukka Rask in net.
The Rangers will counter with Brandon Dubinsky, Brian Boyle and Ryan Callahan up front, Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh on the blue line and Henrik Lundqvist in goal.
12:55 p.m.: The Bruins have officially scratched Zach Hamill again. Wojtek Wolski is the healthy scratch for the Rangers.
12:45 p.m.: There were no changes in the Bruins lines in the warm-up. Zach Hamill was on the ice, but didn't take part in the line rushes.
Brad Richards, who was banged up a bit by a slew foot from Matt Cooke on Thursday and missed practice Friday, was on the ice for the Rangers and should play in this one.
The full Bruins line combinations from warm-ups:
Lucic-Krejci-Horton
Marchand-Bergeron-Seguin
Pouliot-Kelly-Peverley
Paille-Campbell-Thornton
Defense pairs:
Chara-Boychuk
Seidenberg-McQuaid
Ference-Corvo
12:30 p.m.: Tuukka Rask led the Bruins out for warm-ups. He will indeed get the start against the Rangers as expected.
Henrik Lundqvist led the Rangers out and will be in net for New York.
12:15 p.m.: The Bruins and Rangers will battle for first place in the East in less than an hour, but Bruins coach Claude Julien is still keeping his goaltender for the showdown under wraps.
Julien refused to reveal his choice when meeting with the media moments ago, though it's likely Tuukka Rask will get the nod after Tim Thomas started the last two games.
That won't be confirmed until warm-ups though, so check back shortly to see which netminder leads the Bruins out.
8 a.m. ET: It took more than half the season, but the top two teams in the Eastern Conference will finally face each other for the first time this year on Saturday.
The Bruins return home from a four-game road trip to host the East-leading Rangers in a marquee matinee matchup. New York (29-12-4, 62 points) has a one-point lead on Boston (30-13-1, 61 points), but the Rangers have also played one more game.
New York limps into the showdown having lost three of its last five games, including a 4-1 setback to Pittsburgh on Thursday. The Rangers were outscored 11-2 in those three losses, but their two victories in that stretch were both 3-0 wins.
The Bruins have been a bit sluggish of late as well, splitting their road trip with losses to Carolina and Tampa Bay, two teams tied for the fewest points in the East. Boston seemed to get back on track Thursday in New Jersey, rallying for four unanswered goals in the third period to end the trip on a high note with a 4-1 win over the Devils.
Tim Thomas made 30 saves for the win in that game, bouncing back from a shaking outing against the Lightning. With Thomas starting the last two games, Tuukka Rask could be in line for the start on Saturday. He's just 2-3-0 all-time against the Rangers, but that record is deceiving as he has a 1.62 GAA and a .946 save percentage against New York.
Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist has been just as good as Boston, going 16-5-2 with a 1.50 GAA, .947 save percentage and five shutouts in 23 career games against the Bruins.
The Rangers are without defensemen Steve Eminger (shoulder) and Mike Sauer (concussion), while center Brad Richards missed practiced on Friday after being slew-footed by Matt Cooke on Thursday. Chris Kelly missed practice for the Bruins, but coach Claude Julien described it as a "maintenance day" and Boston should have its full roster available for this key matchup.
The puck drops at 1 p.m., so check back here for updates on all the action.
