Tuukka Rask is a closer, and the easy Conn Smythe favorite

Tuukka Rask slammed the door on another series Thursday night, and he’s on a fast track to the Conn Smythe.

During the Boston Bruins’ sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes, one of the most dramatic differences was the goaltending. Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask allowed five goals in the four games, while Carolina’s duo of Petr Mrazek (10 goals allowed on 52 shots) and Curtis McElhinney (.906 save percentage) didn’t have another level to get to.

After a 24-save shutout Thursday night, Rask finished the Eastern Conference Finals with a .956 save percentage and a 1.25 goals-against average. He has been excellent throughout these playoffs, with a 1.84 GAA and a .942 save percentage, but over the last seven games he has turned it up another notch (.961 save percentage, 1.29 GAA, two shutouts).

As the Bruins head for their third Stanley Cup Final in nine years and with the prospect of a ton of rest to come if the St. Louis Blues-San Jose Sharks series goes a full seven games, Rask has become the hockey equivalent of a closer in baseball.

Rask has shut the door on the playoff upstart Columbus Blue Jackets and Hurricanes in back-to-back rounds, with 63 combined saves.

Rask won the Vezina Trophy, given to the NHL’s top goaltender, in 2014. He was excellent in Boston’s run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2013, with a 1.88 GAA, a .940 save percentage and three shutouts, but he appeared to run out of gas at times against the Chicago Blackhawks, allowing at least three goals in three of Boston’s four series losses.

If anyone had even the faintest idea that Rask would be an Achilles’ heel for the Bruins, he has answered that question by stepping his game up as this year’s playoffs have gone on.

If the Bruins payoff their run and win the Stanley Cup, the Conn Smythe Trophy will undoubtedly be Rask’s. Even if they lose, barring a complete disaster, he will have a strong case for the award.