Artemi Panarin scored twice, Alexis Lafreniere finished with a goal and two assists as the New York Rangers ended their season-opening seven-game home winless streak by pulling away for a 6-3 victory over the Nashville Predators on Monday night.
After consecutive shutout losses to the New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes extended the skid, the Rangers never trailed after going 0-6-1 in their first seven home games.
Mika Zibanejad scored New York’s opening goal and Vladislav Gavrikov tallied the tiebreaking goal late in the first.
Panarin scored his first goal of the game about 6 1/2 minutes after Lafreniere started New York’s three-goal second period with a power play tally. Will Cuylle padded the Rangers’ lead to 5-1 on a goal with 10 seconds remaining in the middle stanza.
Lafreniere had his first three-point showing since March 30, 2024 and Panarin finished with his first two-goal game since April 10 of last season when he scored twice in a 9-2 road win over the New York Islanders.
Vincent Trocheck collected two assists in his return from a 14-game absence due to an upper-body injury.
Gavrikov also set up Zibanejad’s opening goal and Adam Fox finished with two assists for the Rangers, who were outscored 23-6 in their first seven home games.
Matthew Wood finished with a hat trick by scoring two power-play goals and another in the final minute for the Predators, who lost their fifth straight (0-3-2) and fell to 1-6-2 in the past nine contests.
The 20-year old Wood had five assists in 15 career games until breaking out with a three-goal effort in Madison Square Garden.
New York goalie Igor Shesterkin made 27 saves, as the Predators outshot the Rangers, 30-18.
Nashville’s Juuse Saros allowed five goals on 12 shots on goal in the first 40 minutes before being pulled for Justus Annunen. Annunen stopped five shots and allowed one goal.
After Zibanejad slipped past Nashville defenseman Nick Perbix and Adam Willsby to finish off a breakaway with 9:21 left in the first, Wood swept in a rebound off a scramble in front of Shesterkin nearly six minutes later for a 1-1 tie.
Gavrikov gave the Rangers the lead with 1:53 left in the first when he used a screen by Lafreniere to get a shot from above the left circle past Saros.
Lafreniere cut through the slot after getting a pass from Gabriel Perreault and slid a backhander by Saros for a 3-1 lead following.
Panarin extended the lead to 4-1 with a shot from the right point that went under Saros.
–Field Level Media
