It wasn’t as thrilling of a performance as when he scored in his Rangers debut, but Vladimir Tarasenko’s contributions still impressed head coach Gerard Gallant in their 4-1 loss to the Jets on Monday.

So much so that the Blueshirts’ second-year head coach called it “probably his best game, for me.”

Skating on a second line with Vincent Trocheck and Artemi Panarin, Tarasenko picked up an assist and three shots on goal in 19:48 of ice time — his most since the blockbuster deal 11 days ago that sent him from the Blues to the Rangers, along with defenseman Niko Mikkola, for a conditional 2023 first-round pick, a conditional 2024 fourth-round pick, Sammy Blais and Hunter Skinner.

“He was around the puck a lot and he had some good chances,” Gallant said, “and Trocheck and that line played really good.”

The Rangers now have a six-game sample of Tarasenko to start figuring out his lineup placement for the rest of the season and, if everything falls into place, the postseason. He’ll be an important element of their playoff plans, given the trade-deadline acquisition the Rangers made and Tarasenko’s postseason history. He has scored 41 career playoff goals, with 11 coming in 2018-19, the season the Blues won the Stanley Cup, and another nine two years prior when they reached the Western Conference finals.

Monday night was the second game that Tarasenko, Trocheck and Panarin skated on a line together, according to Natural Stat Trick, but the first that they’ve opened the game on the same line. Tarasenko had opened with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad the previous three games, following a first game with the Rangers when he skated alongside Panarin and Zibanejad to start.

For the Blueshirts’ first goal Monday night, Tarasenko and Trocheck connected midway through the second period after the former collected a rebound — near the corner, on a tight angle — and threaded a pass across the crease. Trocheck knocked the puck in before Connor Hellebuyck could recover, and that trimmed the Blueshirts’ deficit to 3-1.

The combination of Tarasenko, Trocheck and Panarin has been the most successful at creating scoring chances, as they’ve generated 18 shots and scored two goals, according to Natural Stat Trick. Tarasenko has skated nearly twice as much with Kreider and Zibanejad, though, but they’ve only created 10 shots while allowing 13.

That could turn Monday’s positive impression into a turning point.

“I thought he played real well,” Gallant said. “I thought Tarasenko played really well.”