He’s certainly become one of the more polarizing members of the Bruins – at least on social media and sports talk radio.

There are times where he deserves his share of criticism no doubt. But there’s no denying that, in his last five starts of the 2016-17 regular season, Tuukka Rask played his best hockey of the season.

This came following arguably his worst performance of the season two weeks ago in an all-important contest against the Lightning. Two days later, Rask missed the Islanders game due to a lower body injury. In his place, Anton Khudobin backstopped the Bruins to a crucial win in Brooklyn to help get things back on track.

At a time where the outside noise regarding Rask was as loud as the 2016 off-season after he missed the final game of the season due to illness, the Bruins No. 1 netminder responded to those critics with a 4-0-1 mark, a pair of shutouts and a .973 save percentage during the last two weeks of their 82-game campaign.

“I would have to think back, but certainly if it’s not, it’s damn close, I mean, he’s come back and looked structurally sound, controlling his rebounds, playing pucks well, pretty much every facet of his game is solid,” interim coach Bruce Cassidy said about Rask being dialed in following the 4-0 playoff-clinching shutout of the Lightning on Tuesday night.

“And I think in front of him, that breeds confidence, so I think our D are able to get up and close their gaps and have the confidence that if they are a little bit off, the goaltender is there to make the saves. And then, you know, they’re more willing to get out and block a shot knowing that if it does get by them and they’re exposed a little, that there will be another partner there and a goalie there. Again, it just goes hand in hand. The better the goalie plays, it seems like the more confidence everyone has throughout the lineup, and we’re no different.”

Over the last two games, however, the defense got hit by the injury bug. Torey Krug went down in Game 81 against the Sens due to a lower body injury. Brandon Carlo exited following a borderline hit from Alex Ovechkin in Game 82. In their effort to improve their playoff positioning, the Bruins only gained one point against the Sens and Caps to close out the regular season.

The Bruins face either the Capitals or Senators in the first round. They went a combined 0-5-2 in seven games this season. In order to buck that trend and pull off the upset in the first round against the Presidents Trophy winners or the second ranked team in the Atlantic Division, the Bruins will need a complete effort from all 20 guys in the lineup.

The most important Bruin on that nightly 20-man roster? You guessed it, Tuukka Rask.

“You know, I felt good,” Rask said following his eighth shutout of the season on Tuesday. “Obviously [I] had some tough games, but I felt good all along. As I mentioned before, even on that four-game losing streak I played a couple of really good games and so did everybody else. We just ended up losing, and then obviously the blame falls on the goalie, but I felt good all along.”

Even after a relief appearance for Khudobin on Saturday and a tough loss to the Sens 48 hours prior, Rask should feel good about himself. The rest of the team, however, isn’t on the highest of highs following their two-game skid to potential playoff opponents to close out the regular season.

Because of that, they may need Rask to perform at a Conn Smythe level on a nightly basis, most likely beginning either Wednesday or Thursday night.