Maybe the Bruins needed to face a potential postseason opponent to break their recent slump.

Of course the Bruins have to get to the Stanley Cup Playoffs first before they think about potential first round matchups. But on the last Saturday matinee of the season — one that has been full of ups and downs — the Black and Gold got a couple of needed breaks in their 4-2 win over the Eastern Conference leading New York Rangers.

Kicking things off — no pun intended — was Milan Lucic, who scored his first of two goals just 1:41 into the contest. The original no goal call was overturned after the official review in Toronto declared Lucic did not use a distinct kicking motion to score his 16th of the season.

The Bruins built off of that break, and broke their six-game losing streak in the process.

“It happened so fast and I just tried to stop the puck with my foot instead of trying to kick it. Thankfully, the call went our way,” said Lucic, who added his 17th of the season 7:45 after his opening tally. “The play had to get reviewed in Toronto, and you know when they’re making a call like that, you know they’re making the right call. Just one of those plays that happened so quick, and I didn’t know if it was a goal or not, but thankfully it went in.”

The game never felt like it was in doubt when the Bruins took a 3-0 first period lead in one of their best periods of hockey this season. It could’ve turned around quickly, however, after Tuukka Rask left the game just 10 seconds into the middle stanza due to apparent dehydration.

But the Bruins kept the pressure on a returning Henrik Lundqvist — who was back in the lineup after suffering a neck injury at the end of January — and extended their lead to 4-0 on Reilly Smith’s first goal in 14 games 5:53 into the second. Niklas Svedberg stopped 16 of 18 Rangers shots in a very solid relief appearance.

“Sveddy made a couple of big stops that kept the momentum in our favor, I think,” said Torey Krug, who notched his 24th assist of the season on Lucic’s second goal at 9:26 of the first. “If they score a goal there when we switch goalies, it’s a different type of game. We were lucky to have him tonight.

“It speaks to the way the team plays. It doesn’t matter who’s in, if we play the way we’re capable of, we’re going to get results.”

As good as Svedberg was, the Bruins need their reigning Vezina Trophy winner to come up big when they need him the most. Luckily, Rask’s issue doesn’t seem too serious as it appears he’ll travel with the team for Sunday’s game in Raleigh against the Carolina Hurricanes.

“He’s fine. It looks like it might have been a case of dehydration,” head coach Claude Julien said. “He’s scheduled to travel with us, he’s scheduled to be with us and he should be fine for [Carolina].”

The Bruins needed a few bounces to go their way in another must-win game. From the opening moments to Rask’s dehydration severity, they got those breaks for the most part.

The only break the Bruins and their fans didn’t get? Seeing goaltending coach Bob Essensa in action.

At least the TD Garden got to see Essensa don the goalie pads, anyway. So not all was lost in a game where the Bruins got a few breaks.

“What a joke,” Julien laughed about Essensa dressing. “He didn’t have the equipment here. He was just trying to look good.”