It should have been a “gimme,” but it almost became a “gotcha.”

Gimme games have been an anomaly for the Black and Gold all year. Recent contests with lowly Carolina, Buffalo and Edmonton all produced one-goal outcomes with two overtime losses in what should have been easy wins for a Bruins team that is fighting for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

In the Bruins last home game of the season, the hapless Toronto Maple Leafs came to town with nothing at stake.

For the Bruins two more mega points were needed with both Ottawa and Detroit getting two each in respective wins while Boston entertained Toronto.

No easy wins, however, for the local team this season. Another gimme game went to a shootout after Boston blasted Leafs’ goalie James Reimer with 50 shots on net — but one goal to show for it all.

“It’s one of those games, kind of like Buffalo,” Claude Julien said after the 2-1 win, his team’s fourth shootout victory in 13 total shootouts. “When you let a team hang around that long you’re inviting trouble.”

Trouble, indeed.

Thank Patrice Bergeron and Tuukka Rask for major contributions in the last home game of the season.

Rask was making his 67th  appearance in 79 games after being named in pregame ceremonies as the Elizabeth Dufresne Trophy recipient that goes to the Bruin who has been the most outstanding in home games.

Rask compiled a record of 21-8-6 in 35 home games with a home GAA of 2.03 and save percentage of .930 with two shutouts. He was on his way to preserving that status since going 9-3-3 in his last 15 starts, while Boston peppered Reimer with 19 shots in a scoreless first period.

Nineteen ticks into the second period, Brad Marchand sent a corner pass onto Bergeron’s blade 15 feet out. Pasting Reimer’s left pad, the rebound came right back on “Bergie’s” stick. He wasted no time with a top-shelf laser for his 22nd of the season; David Krejci also assisting. The tally tied Marchand for the Bruins team lead in goals

But former University of New Hampshire standout James van Riemsdyk pulled the Leafs even at 14:51 when he tapped a fluttering rebound past Rask off a Morgan Rielly blast from the blue line. It was van Riemsdyk’s team-leading 26th goal; old friend Phil Kessel has 24.

“The lack of finish,” Julien said about his recurring theme all season. “I guess, tonight, where we had some great opportunities, but give their goaltender credit, he was outstanding tonight, gave them a chance to stay in it. From our end of it, you tell yourself you’ve got to find ways to score goals. It was tough.”

It didn’t get any easier in overtime. Or the shootout.

“You know when we have 50 shots,” Bergeron said, “we definitely have to score more than one goal, but we found a way and got the win.”

Bergeron found that way by scoring more than one goal alone when he deked Reimer in the second round of the shootout, while Rask slammed the door on all three Leafs shots.

“I knew we were going to be in a dogfight,” Rask, the game’s No. 1 star said postgame.

“He had to make the saves when he needed to,” Julien said about his stellar netminder. “Again, in that shootout it’s the same thing, left on his own and some pretty good shooters went up against him. You’re always fearing the worst when a team is hanging around that long. Thankfully we were able to get a break there in the shootout and finally win one.”

Five consecutive wins keeps Boston in the driver’s seat for postseason play, not to mention a possible third-place finish in the Atlantic Division after Thursday’s convincing come-from-behind win in Detroit to deadlock both teams at 93 points; now at 95 thanks to both club’s Saturday night shootout victories.

The season ends next Saturday after three straight games on the road in Washington, Florida and Tampa Bay and the Bruins holding a 17-15-6 tally away from TD Garden.

“They’re all must wins in our minds and we got to keep approaching it that way,” Julien said Saturday morning.

He’ll be saying that each of the next seven mornings with hopes that Saturday night was not the last game of the whole season on Causeway Street.

“When they’re big games, we find ways to score,” he said after the win.

There are three big games left in the regular season.