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A great, hardworking 3-1 road win over the Predators

By Steve Paulus

Oct 21, 2021; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; New York Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant talks with New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafreniere (13) during the second period against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 21, 2021; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; New York Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant talks with New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafreniere (13) during the second period against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /
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New York Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant talks with New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafreniere (13) (Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports)
New York Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant talks with New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafreniere (13) (Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports) /

The winning streak is now three games for the New York Rangers.  The last time they lost in regulation was opening night. They are tied for first place in the Metropolitan Division and they boast the most road wins (3) in the NHL, tied with St. Louis. They have allowed one goal in each of the last three games.

For Coach Gerard Gallant, it was en effort to be proud of.  “I was really proud of our group, the way we battled hard and got pucks out. It was a gritty effort, chipping the pucks off the boards. Sometimes our cute team doesn’t do that and I like the way we battled tonight.”

It was almost a perfect road game.  Filip Chytil scored just about two minutes into the game to give the team an early lead that they held onto into the second period.

Rookie Phil Tomasino got his first NHL goal when he banked a shot off Shesterkin as he scrambled to get back to the net.

In the third period, the Rangers thought they had taken the lead on a Ryan Lindgren shot from Zibanejad and Panarin, but the goal was called back as offside.  The resilience of the team showed as they shook off the call and scored four minutes later.

The winning goal was scored by Alexis Lafrenière on two beautiful passes by Adam Fox to Sammy Blais who fed Lafrenière for the goal.


The Rangers hung on after that, even after the Predators pulled their goalie with 2:26 left in the game. Most of those last two minutes were spent in the Rangers zone until Barclay Goodrow sealed the win with an empty net goal with only six seconds left.

The Rangers had a tough schedule, playing five of their first six games on the road and they have been playing without two third of one of the top lines.  They have still scored only nine non-empty net goals in five games, but they’ve won three of them and have lost only one in regulation.  It’s a pretty amazing start.

Here’s a five minute video recap of the game:

Somehow, this Rangers team is turning into a shutdown defensive team.  The allowed the Predators only five shots in the third period. Since dropping their opener 5-1, they have allowed only six goals in four games.

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