The New York Rangers remained red-hot Sunday night when they rode a six-goal first period to a 7-0 rout of the visiting Nashville Predators.
The Rangers (41-19-10, 92 points), who blanked the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-0 on Saturday night, have won four straight by a combined score of 22-5. They have scored 15 unanswered goals in their last three games, the longest streak in the NHL this season.
K’Andre Miller scored twice in the first, and Filip Chytil, Mika Zibanejad, Tyler Motte and Artemi Panarin also collected goals as the Rangers tied the franchise record for most goals in a first period, set most recently against the Los Angeles Kings in an 8-3 win on Dec. 15, 1999.
Chris Kreider added a goal in the second for the Rangers, who recorded their most lopsided shutout since a 9-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on March 17, 2021. The seven goals were one shy of New York’s season high, set in an 8-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 10.
Goalie Jaroslav Halak stopped all 22 shots he faced one night after Igor Shesterkin recorded the shutout with 33 saves.
The Predators (34-26-8, 76 points) have lost three straight (0-2-1). They entered Sunday five points behind the Winnipeg Jets in the race for the second wild card in the Western Conference.
Goalie Kevin Lankinen was pulled after allowing four goals on just five shots in the first 9:09. Juuse Saros went the rest of the way and made 26 saves.
The defeat was the most lopsided shutout for Nashville since Jan. 11, 1999, when the expansion team fell to the Flyers 9-0.
Chytil opened the scoring just 2:37 into the first for the Rangers, who collected their first five goals in a span of 10:01 — the fastest five-goal flurry to open a game in franchise history.
The Rangers chased Lankinen when Zibanejad, Motte and Miller scored in a span of just 1:47. The Predators were whistled for having too many men on the ice at 9:48, just 13 seconds before Panarin scored on New York’s first shot against Saros.
Miller, who had the primary assist on Chytil’s goal and the secondary assist on Motte’s goal, scored again with 6:24 left in the period to become the first defenseman in franchise history with four points in a period.
Kreider scored 9:02 into the second.
–Field Level Media
