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Key Rangers takeaways after 6-3 win over Predators ends home losing skid
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- Key Rangers takeaways after 6-3 win over Predators ends home losing skid
Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Hey! Hey! Hey, Hey, Hey! Cue up the New York Rangers goal song and chalk up the Blueshirts first home-ice win of the season, a long-awaited 6-3 victory over the Nashville Predators at Madison Square Garden on Monday.
The Rangers (8-7-2) entered Monday winless in their first seven home games (0-6-1). If that wasn't mind-boggling and frustrating enough, they scored six goals in those seven games, and were shut out five times.
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But the Rangers had five different goal scorers against the Predators, and Vincent Trocheck added two assists in his return to the lineup after missing 14 straight games due to an upper-body injury. That was plenty for the Rangers to hand the Predators (5-9-2) their fifth straight loss (0-3-2).
"The first seven games we didn't like. We played some decent hockey, but couldn't score, couldn't win. It was good today to score a couple," said Alexis Lafreniere , who had a season-high three points (one goal, two assists).
Artemi Panarin scored twice and Gabe Perreault picked up his first NHL point with an assist in his season debut after the 20-year-old was recalled from Hartford of the American Hockey League on Sunday.
Vladislav Gavrikov had a goal an an assist for the Rangers, who also received goals from Mika Zibanejad and Will Cuylle . Adam Fox contributed two assists, and Igor Shesterkin finished with 26 saves.
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"I couldn't be happier for the guys," Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said postgame.
Rookie Matthew Wood scored twice on the power play as part of his first NHL hat trick for Nashville. Juuse Saros allowed five goals on 12 shots before he was pulled after the second period. Justus Annunen stopped five of six shots in the third period.
After leading on home ice for fewer than 12 minutes the entire season, the Rangers never trailed Monday against the Predators. Zibanejad opened the scoring 10:39 into the game; and after the Predators pulled even less than six minutes later, Gavrikov put the home team ahead for good at 18:07 of the first period.
Zibanejad accepted a head-man feed from Fox, split the Predators defense, and beat Saros with a forehand finish for his fifth goal of the season to get the party started at MSG. Nashville, though, tied things up with a power-play goal by Wood at 16:16, after Shesterkin made two outstanding diving saves, before the 20-year-old forward cashed in another rebound.
The Rangers had an answer, when Trocheck's gorgeous spinning backhand pass set up Gavrikov's goal through a Lafreniere screen just 1:51 later to make it 2-1. It was a well-deserved lead after the Rangers out-chanced the Predators 8-2 at 5v5 in the opening period.
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Somehow in a low-event second period, the Rangers managed to blow the game open. They scored three goals on four shots in the middle frame to extend their lead to 5-1.
Lafreniere took a pass from Perreault and motored toward the net from the left circle, finishing with a backhand shot through the five-hole of Saros for a power-play goal at 1:23 of the second.
If Saros wasn't happy with himself after that goal, he must've been furious at 7:51 when Panarin's long-range slap shot leaked through his pads.
The Rangers didn't record another shot on goal until 12 minutes later, when Cuylle wired a shot high glove and just under the crossbar to up the Rangers lead to 5-1 at 19:50. Noah Laba started the scoring play with a good defensive play at New York's blue line and then made the pass to set up Cuylle off the rush at the other end.
It was a fairly sloppy third period for the Rangers, who were whistled for three consecutive penalties — two by Trocheck — in a span of 2:34 midway through the period. Shesterkin and Co. looked good on the PK, until Wood ripped a left-wing clapper past the Rangers goalie at 12:48.
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But Panarin answered back with an unassisted goal at 13:30 to restore New York's four-goal lead. Wood finished off the hat trick with his sixth goal in the past seven games, this one at even strength, at 19:15.
The first home win finally in the books, the Rangers hit the road for two straight, beginning Wednesday in Tampa Bay against the Lightning . The Rangers carry a League-best 7-1-1 road record into that contest.
Key takeaways after Rangers end winless skid at home with 6-3 victory over Predators
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1. Reunited and it feels so good
Sullivan didn't overthink things, and that paid off handsomely Monday. With Trocheck back after a month-long injury absence, he reunited the 32-year-old center with long-time linemates Lafreniere and Panarin. They combined for seven points (three goals, four assists) and a plus-7 rating; Panarin had his first multiple-goal game of 2025-26, and Lafreniere had a three-point breakout.
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Trocheck logged 16:57 TOI, including PK and power play, took a few bumps, including an elbow to the face early on, and tied Cuylle for the team lead with six hits.
The line played a team-high 11:55 together 5v5, and outscored the Predators 3-0 until Wood's goal in the final minute. Per Natural Stat Trick, the Trocheck line out-chanced Nashville 6-2 and had an expected goals share of 66.71 percent.
2. The Kid looked alright
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Perreault played five games late last season after turning pro with the Rangers, and failed to record a point. Monday, he not only recorded his first NHL point with the primary assist on Lafreniere's power-play goal, he nearly scored his first goal, too.
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With Zibanejad tying up two defenders, Perreault hopped on a rebound in the slot 13 minutes into the first period, then went backhand, forehand before zipping a shot off the post. It was part of a strong season debut for the 2023 first-round pick, who led Hartford with five goals and 10 points in nine games before his recall.
Perreault logged 14:08 TOI overall, and played mostly with Zibanejad and J.T. Miller at even strength.
"It's pretty cool. Playing with those two guys is pretty easy … thought we played pretty well overall," Perreault said postgame.
3. 'Big boost of confidence' for Rangers
Forget that the Predators really are not very good, nor that Saros had a rough night. The Rangers desperately needed a win at home, no matter the quality of opponent. And they got it, playing an exceptional first 40 minutes, and getting contributions up and down a deeper lineup with the additions of Trocheck and Perreault.
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Ten of New York's 18 skaters recorded at least a point. Three of the four forward lines were in on at least one goal. And the fourth line was again a physical north-south force with the return of Adam Edstrom following a two-game injury absence.
And let's not forget Gavrikov, who played a strong game at both ends — not only scoring his second goal of the season, but later breaking up a Nashville 3-on-1 with a perfectly-timed slide and good stick.
"The message has been, 'Let's continue to understand what that game looks like when we're at our best,' and we generate offense, we just haven't scored as many goals. Tonight, we scored goals," Sullivan explained. "Hopefully, that reinforces the process a little bit and just gives us that much more belief that if we play a certain way, we can compete with any team in this League. My hope is that we can use this win tonight as a big boost of confidence for the guys."
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