Henrik Lundqvist stands alone in remarkable Vic Hadfield tribute

There is no reason for Henrik Lundqvist to pull punches.

So the Rangers goalie did not sugarcoat anything, didn’t try to build up his young teammates into believing they were any bit better than they really were. He told it exactly how almost everyone else saw it, that his Blueshirts were manhandled in a 4-3 shootout loss to the superior Jets on Sunday night at the Garden.

On the night when the club raised Vic Hadfield’s No. 11 to the rafters, the Rangers’ disjointed effort led to them blowing a 3-0 third-period lead that was as much a mirage as Lundqvist’s 39-save brilliance was real. So did that first Winnipeg goal of the third period change the momentum?

“Momentum? I don’t know what game you were watching. I felt like they owned us,” Lundqvist said. “We tried to survive for two periods, and then finally they got a goal and they kept coming. That’s the feeling I had all game.”

The Jets (16-8-2) put on a display of depth and talent that led Rangers head coach David Quinn to say they’re “probably the best team we’ve seen all year.” Meanwhile, the Rangers (13-12-3) have now lost three in a row and five of the past six going back to that 4-0 thumping by the Flyers on the day after Thanksgiving.

Quinn pointed to the odd-man rushes against as being the biggest culprit during this stretch — which was preceded by a run of 9-1-1 — but it hasn’t been just that. This game, the Blueshirts just couldn’t keep up with the Jets, giving them just enough time and space to create a plethora of high-grade scoring chances.

But Lundqvist was there to do what he could to keep them in it, including making eight saves in a wild three-on-three overtime before allowing tallies to Patrik Laine and Mark Scheifele in the skills competition to give Winnipeg the extra point it deserved.

“He’s as good as there is out there, in my opinion,” Quinn said of his 36-year-old netminder. “He was unbelievable. He’s the reason we have the record we have. Everybody talks about where we’re at, but let’s be honest here, this guy’s been outstanding since Day 1. A lot of things we’ve done pretty well so far, too. But he’s the guy. He’s our best player.”

Lundqvist made terrific stops on Blake Wheeler and Scheifele in the opening five minutes of the game, and another great one on Bryan Little at the start of the second. His heroics allowed goals from Jesper Fast, Marc Staal and Chris Kreider to hold up a 3-0 lead that came on just 11 shots at struggling Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck in the opening 40 minutes.

Watching the game unfold, it was an entirely improbable score — but it was still the truth. And watching it come crashing down in the third period felt like an inevitability.

After a mindless cross-checking penalty from Brendan Smith — on a night when he almost assuredly earned himself a seat in the press box for the next game, Saturday in Florida — the Jets got a power-play goal from Scheifele at 2:10. Just over two minutes later, Jack Roslovic scored on an open shot from the high slot to make it 3-2.

And then as the clock ticked down, Little was the one to bury a rebound with 2:30 remaining in regulation to send it to overtime.

“I knew they were going to come,” Lundqvist said. “When the game is played like that, you know they’re going to have enough looks to come back. … I felt like, from my view, they were the better team.”

So even if Lundqvist gave his Rangers a chance, and some opportunistic offense gave them a lead, it still couldn’t get the job done — and now they have a whole week to think about it.

“It’s not enough for a win,” Lundqvist said, “so it doesn’t feel good at all.”