This one was ultimately going to be decided by one of the two best goaltenders across the NHL.

With photos of three of the last four Stanley Cups hanging in two trophy cases, Tuukka Rask – a backup to Tim Thomas in 2011 – and Jonathan Quick – the Cup-winning goalie in 2012 and 2014 – went at it at TD Garden Saturday night.

Rask had but two career games against the Los Angeles Kings with a 1-1 record and a 2.20 goals-against-average.

For Connecticut native and former UMass Minuteman Quick (2005 and ’06), a quite broader Bruins’ resume at 7-3 in 10 career games with a 2.04 GAA.

The Kings, notorious for hanging back in the regular-season pack before catching fire in the playoffs were on the front end of a five-game road trip with the dubious distinction of currently being out of the playoffs, while having the least number of road wins (five) except for Edmonton and Buffalo. The Bruins, on the other hand, came in with points in 12 of their last 13 games, while regaining momentum toward their season-long goal of finishing as high in the standings as possible with four of their next five at home.

So, how did this pipe-dwelling duel play out? Like a key playoff game complemented with tight defense and heavy physical play at both ends.

“Yeah, it was a [solid 60-minute effort],” Claude Julien said postgame. “I think it was for both teams. When it takes an empty-net goal to seal the deal, you know you got a tie game with seven minutes left that gives you a pretty good indication of two big strong teams. I think we battled for every inch of the ice.”

It was 0-0 after the first period with the home team pasting Quick with 10 shots, many of the quality type. It extended Quick’s scoreless streak vs. Boston to 91:07. Brad Marchand – a year ago on January 20, 2014 – was the last Bruin to find the back of Quick’s twine.

Rask, at the other end, stopped all six Kings’ shots, two of which were labeled for pay dirt.

“His game has been elevated,” Claude Julien said about Rask’s overall play after morning skate. “When a goaltender is hot, you have a tendency to want to ride him.”

Quick was the hotter in the second period, extending his total shutout minutes to 108:27 until Marchand launched a 20-foot wrister past Quick for a 1-0 lead at 17:20. That was preceded with a Torey Krug blast at the 13-minute mark and another Marchand bid at 5:00, two key Quick stops.

The best scoring chance of the game, however, went to the Kings at 13:23 when Nick Shore sped in alone from center ice with Rask denying the go-ahead goal among his 10 total saves.

Quick faced 13 shots.

“No doubt he’s been great,” Julien said about his stellar pipe-dweller, while throwing a few compliments Quick’s way. “We’ve talked about it for a long time. This last month [Tuukka’s] been on fire. He made some huge saves at opportune times, but so did the guy at the other end. It was a good goaltender duel tonight.”

It sure was.

The Bruins sported a 19-1-1 record this season when leading after two. Tyler Toffoli put a bid to change that stat when he clanged the post to Rask’s right two minutes into the final frame.

A drought-stricken Gregory Campbell, camped alone on Quick’s doorstep at 6:33, was refused his second point in his last 12 games.
Quick followed that with a left-slot laser stop on David Pastrnak with 8:36 remaining.

It looked like a done deal for Rask until Jordan Nolan rolled down the left wing off a Drew Doughty pass, launching 30-foot rocket that nicked off Dougie Hamilton’s stick, handcuffing Rask – and knotting the score at 1-1 at 13:00.

A minute and a half later Chris Kelly’s shot – that needed a referee review – would regain the lead at 14:33 with Carl Soderberg getting the key assist. Marchand put the exclamation point with a slow-roller into the empty net with 37 ticks remaining for his second of the game, 15th of the season.

And the Bruins would roll to their 27th win of the season in one of their best 60-minute efforts thus far.

“Not a lot of room and both teams battled hard and goals were tough to come by,” Rask said after. “Tight game all the way to the end.”

“Probably the most important part of our team,” Milan Lucic said about Rask.

“It’s nice to see our team compete for that whole 60 minutes and stay on top of their game,” Julien summed. “These are the kinds of games everybody gets up for, including coaches. I’m sure the fans enjoyed watching as well.”

They’d really enjoy watching a Rask-Quick rematch in June. That would end in a combined four Cups in the past five years for two of the NHL’s premier backstoppers.