3 least impressive New York Rangers players from 2-1 loss to Winnipeg Jets feat. Alexis Lafreniere

The New York Rangers are in the thick of a tightly-contested postseason chase in the Eastern Conference as they are one of the teams teams vying for the two final Wild Card positions.

Meanwhile, the Winnipeg Jets have the exact opposite issue as they are the top team in the Western Conference and are the odds-on favorite to claim the Stanley Cup.

The Jets grounded the Rangers on Tuesday night, winning 2-1 and improving to 45-17-4; the Rangers are now 31-28-6 and missed out on a chance to gain valuable ground in the postseason race.

Former Rangers forward Vladislav Namestnikov, who recently re-signed with the Jets on a multi-year contract, opened the scoring for Winnipeg with his 11th goal of the season. But just past the midway point of the period, the Rangers responded after Mika Zibanejad notched his 15th goal of the season, tying the score at 1-1.

Early in the second period, the Jets re-took the lead after Gabriel Vilardi scored for the 27th time; his tally eventually stood up as the game-winning goal, as it was the last goal of the game.

Neither team found the back of the net in the third period, and despite a furious late push from the Rangers with goaltender Igor Shesterkin on the bench for a sixth attacker, they weren't able to come up with the equalizer.

Shesterkin made 22 saves in a losing effort, while Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck was his usual stingy self with by making 21 saves on the 22 shots that the Rangers fired his way.

3 least impressive New York Rangers players from 2-1 loss to Winnipeg Jets

#1. Alexis Lafreniere

One of the key players in the top-six of the Rangers lineup, Lafreniere was nowhere to be found for New York during Tuesday night's loss against the Jets.

He finished with zero points, a -1 rating and zero shots on goal.

#2. Vincent Trocheck

Another top forward for the Rangers, Trocheck was invisible when New York needed him the most.

He failed to make an impact on the game, finishing with zero points; he managed only a single shot on goal and was also guilty of a giveaway.

#3. J.T. Miller

Like Lafrienere and Trocheck, Miller finished with zero points on the night; meanwhile, his defensive performance was lacking with three separate giveaways and a total of six penalty minutes.