It was easy for Boston Bruins fans to miss Anton Khudobin. Especially after January.

Named one of the NHL’s Three Stars of January after a 10-win, .927 save percentage month of January (he played 14 games in the month), Khudobin was only with the Black-and-Gold for a short while, but left an impact in the wake of a Tim Thomas exodus.

Behind Tuukka Rask, Khudobin played with the gusto of a platoon goaltender, and was a guy capable of challenging Rask for some starts in the Bruins’ accelerated 48-game schedule. I don’t think that the 27-year-old was ever set to steal Rask’s job last season per se, but he did play with the confidence that left you hopeful for a possible deep playoff run in the event of a Rask injury.

As much as a backup goaltender could, anyways. And while you just haven’t really gotten that vibe from Khudobin’s replacement this season, veteran journeyman Chad Johnson, the nightly results for the new Boston backup are starting to tell a different story.

Since perhaps the worst start of Johnson’s still relatively young career at the NHL level -- a loss to the league-worst Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 19 where Johnson allowed four goals on 23 shots -- the 27-year-old looks like a goalie hellbent on changing his perception among the Hub’s rabid crowd.

Since that night in Buffalo, Johnson’s won all four of his starts, and has posted a .940 save percentage in seven total games played since then. Even in relief of Rask (three appearances now), Johnson has put up respectable figures, stopping 47-of-50 shots, a (you guessed it) .940 save percentage.

That’s basically the most you can get from a backup goaltender you’re paying $600,000.

And it’s also a stretch that’s quite reminiscent of Khudobin’s year in Boston. Deja-Khu, even.

Johnson’s played 16 games this year, has won 10 of his 12 starts, and has posted a solid 2.14 goals against average and .923 save percentage in the process. In his lone year of full-time work with the Boston Bruins in 2012-13, Khudobin posted nine wins with a .920 save percentage and 2.32 goals against average in 14 games played. Wait, so you’re telling me that Johnson’s been, uh, better?

By the numbers, yup. Now’s the time to finally acknowledge that, too.

In an undeniable way, the B’s need Johnson.

Rask, a $7 million goaltender or not, can’t play 70 games if the Black-and-Gold are going to make another serious run at Lord Stanley, and that much has become painfully obvious. With just three wins and allowing 20 goals on the last 175 shots thrown his way (an ugly .886 save percentage), Rask’s cold streak, which looks largely fatigue-based, is giving the B’s a reason to use Johnson.

Right now, the Bruins are just letting Rask chill out before the Olympic break and before he joins Team Finland in Sochi for the Olympics because of course that’s another obstacle in the Bruins’ way.

It’s a challenge that Johnson’s welcomed, too.

“I just try and be ready for any situation if it’s playing back-to-back or whatever it is. I look at the calendar a little bit ahead,” Johnson admitted on Saturday, moments after his first shutout as a member of the Bruins. “I try to stay focused on just the present day and sort of tomorrow, so I had no idea that I’d be playing this much, but I think when you look at the Olympic break coming up, you know that Tuukka [Rask] might have a little more time off, especially after break as well just with the whole back to backs coming up in March, so yeah I try not to look too far ahead.

“I think you get more comfortable. I think that routine, the flow of the game, it comes a lot easier for you. The focus is always there. That experience you have with playing more and just that flow, and it definitely helps playing closer together and within days of each game that I play.”

With three games to go before the league’s Olympic break, it seems likely that we’ll see Johnson earn the nod in two out of the final three games (at least based on Julien’s talk about managing Rask). And a month of March featuring 17 games in 31 days and six, yes six, sets of back-to-back contests will put the B’s coaching staff in a situation where they’re asking for more out of Johnson.

The good news, at least right now, is that he’s slowly looking more capable of getting it done.

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