Rangers Snap Home Skid in Style Over Predators

On a night that saw top prospect Gabe Perreault make his season debut, Vincent Trocheck return from injury and Matthew Wood score his first career hat trick, the New York Rangers thoroughly defeated the visiting Nashville Predators 6-3 at Madison Square Garden.

Everything was going the Rangers’ way as the team put up two goals in the first period, three in the second and one more in the final frame. From start to finish, New York never had to sweat whether it’d lose this game, and that’s because of the fantastic effort the team displayed on the ice.

Here are three takeaways from the Rangers’ 6-3 triumph against the Predators.

The Home Woes Are Over

Coming into the night, the Rangers had inexplicably been unable to capture a win in front of their home fans. In seven attempts, the team was 0-6-1 at Madison Square Garden. The severe lack of goal scoring — the Rangers had only scored six home goals all season — was a problem that had reared its ugly head repeatedly.

Luckily for the Rangers, that terrible trend ended tonight. Six pucks hitting the back of the net — two of which came off the stick of a freshly shaved Artemi Panarin — were more than good enough to beat a Predators team that’s struggled to score all year. It was the game Rangers fans had been yearning for since the hiring of Mike Sullivan over the offseason.

Trocheck Impresses in First Game Back

Vincent Trocheck’s return to the lineup after a long absence due to an upper-body injury he suffered on Oct. 9 against the Buffalo Sabres was a much-needed boost to the Rangers’ offense. While it would be understandable to expect a bit of a slow ramp-up, Trocheck put all that to rest with a two-point night that featured excellent assists on goals by Vladislav Gavrikov and Alexis Lafreniere.