The eye test has told us over the last week that the Bruins are not really the best team in the NHL . Now the standings confirm it.

The New York Rangers leapfrogged the B’s into the league’s top spot by points percentage for the time being with a 7-4 win at Madison Square Garden. It was the first time the B’s have lost two games in a row, and in regulation no less.

But much more troubling than the standings is how the product has looked lately. Counting the B’s 3-1 win over Florida, the B’s allowed 18 goals in four games in the week.

Again, the B’s started horribly and found themselves in a hole early. They played well in spurts and did tie the game twice. But the performance could not be categorized as good by any means, and with far-too-taxed Linus Ullmark having a merely average outing, the B’s got the result they could have gotten on many other outings this year if not for great goaltending.

The first period was a wild, see-saw 20 minutes that forced both coaches to take their timeouts to change momentum.

The B’s, who wouldn’t get their first shot on net until the 12:27 mark, started every bit as poorly as they did against the Red Wings on Friday, earning a 2-0 deficit once again.

The questionable effort was evident on the first goal against at 5:58 when John Beecher short-armed a Derek Forbort breakout pass and Nick Bonino pounced, scoring on a turnaround snap shot from the right circle.

The Blueshirts then gashed the B’s for a power-play goal at 10:56. After Forbort could not clear the puck from behind the net, Erik Gustafsson’s blue line shot was deflected by Vincent Trocheck. It trickled through Linus Ullmark and Chris Kreider tapped home the skittering puck.

At that point, Jim Montgomery called a halt to things with a timeout and choice words for his players.

It worked wonders, as the B’s tied the game with two goals in 24 seconds. The first one came at 13:50. Trent Frederic carried the puck up the left wing and tried to backhand a pass to Charlie Coyle skating down the slot. A sprawling Gustafsson’s blocked it, but Frederic stuck with it and got it back to Coyle to easily beat Jonathan Quick for his eighth of the season.

On the next shift, the B’s got a fourth line goal when Jakub Lauko fed Morgan Geekie out high and Geekie buried a slapper to make it 2-2.

Then it was time for New York coach Peter Laviolette to use his timeout.

The B’s appeared to take an improbable lead late in the period when they got their first power play, but it turned out to be an exploding cigar. Charlie McAvoy tried to make a pass down the boards but it kicked ito the middle of the ice for Jacob Trouba and Chris Kreider immediately blew the zone. Trouba hit him in stride for the breakaway goal.

But the B’s still had 26 seconds left on the PP to start the second period,and they needed 25 to the tie the game again. Pavel Zacha made a terrific play to keep the puck in the zone and get it down the boards to David Pastrnak, who did the rest. The sharpshooter skated into the left circle, sold the pass but slipped a shot under Quick’s pads for his 13th of the season.

The B’s played a decent second period but could not get the go-ahead goal and, on a delayed double-minor on Ian Mitchell for high-sticking, the Rangers made it 4-3 with 3:23 left in the period. With the B’s unable to gain control of the puck, Jimmy Vesey chipped the puck over Ullmark to make it 4-3.

Then came the killer goal with 24 seconds left in the period. After the Rangers were allowed all sorts of room off the rush with Pastrnak and Frederic trailing the play, Mika Zibanejad dropped a puck for K’Andre Miller, who one-timed it over Ullmark for an inexcusable goal.

And just like that, what had been shaping up as a fun third period was reduced to extended garbage time.