NASHVILLE PREDATORS NOTES:
ALL-TIME vs. NY RANGERS
OVERALL (34 GP) 15-16-(1)-2
HOME (16 GP) 6-8-(0)-2
ROAD (18 GP) 9-8-(1)-0
LAST MEETING March 19, 2023 at NYR (L, 7-0)
PLAYOFFS Never Met
− The Predators are 15-16-(1)-2 all-time against the Rangers, including a 9-8-(1)-0 record on the road.
− This is the first of two matchups between Nashville and New York in 2023-24; it is the first and only at Madison Square Garden.
− The Predators are 3-2-0 in their last five games against the Rangers; they are 5-5-0 in their last 10; and 3-2-0 in their last five on the road.
− Nashville went 1-1-0 in two games against New York last season, picking up a 2-1 victory at Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 12.
− In the early 2000s, Nashville enjoyed considerable success against New York, earning points in six of seven games from Dec. 23, 2000-March 25, 2004.
NOTABLES vs. NY RANGERS
− Juuse Saros owns a 2.05 goals-against average, .933 save percentage and one shutout in nine career games against the Rangers.
− Roman Josi has 13 points (4g-9a) in 19 career games vs. the Rangers, including three multi-point efforts. He notched three points (2g-1a) against the Rangers on Dec. 16, 2019.
− Colton Sissons has four points (2g-2a) in his last eight games vs. the Rangers.
− Ryan McDonagh served as captain of the Rangers for parts of four seasons from 2014-18; he helped lead New York to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final.
− Philip Tomasino scored his first career NHL goal on Oct. 21, 2021 vs. NY Rangers (Igor Shesterkin).
− Juuso Parssinen made his NHL debut and scored his first career NHL goal (Jaroslav Halak) on Nov. 12, 2022 against the Rangers.
− Rangers Head Coach Peter Laviolette spent parts of six seasons as head coach of the Predators from 2014-20, going 248-143-60 in 451 games. New York Assistant Coaches Phil Housley (2013-17) and Dan Muse (2017-20) also spent time in Nashville on Laviolette’s staff in the same positions.
− Rangers forward Nick Bonino played 219 games across three seasons for Nashville from 2017-20, tallying 95 points (47g48a).
LAST TIME OUT
− Edmonton Oilers 6, Nashville Predators 1 – Oct. 17 (Bridgestone Arena)
− NSH goals: Novak – PP (2)
− EDM goals: Draisaitl – PP (3), Hyman – GWG (1), Nugent-Hopkins (2), McDavid (2), Draisaitl – PP (4), Foegele (1)
− Goaltenders: NSH – Saros (L, 7/11, 18:52); Lankinen (17/19, 40:00); EDM – Campbell (W, 42/43)
− Power plays: NSH 1-3; EDM 2-3
− Notes: Nashville outshot Edmonton, 43-30… Tommy Novak scored his second power-play goal of the season… Ryan O’Reilly assisted on the goal to give him three points (1g-2a) in his first four games… Novak and Roman Josi led all skaters in shots with six… Jeremy Lauzon led all skaters in hits with five… Kevin Lankinen played the final two periods in what was his season debut, stopping 17 of 19 shots.
INJURY REPORT
Player Designation Dates Missed Games Missed
Luke Schenn Lower Body Oct. 12-17 3
Total man-games lost: 3
Individual man-games lost: Schenn – 3
ON THE ATTACK
− Through four games, the Predators lead the NHL in expected goals for (9.18) and are fourth in expected goal percentage (5-on-5) at 58.1 percent, per MoneyPuck.com. Nashville is also tied for second in high-danger shots for (11) and is second in expected goals for per 60 minutes (3.09).
− Nashville leads the NHL in shots on goal (144) and is third in shots on goal per game (36.6). The Predators’ 144 SOG are the most through the first four games of an NHL season in franchise history.
− Filip Forsberg owns a share of the NHL lead in shot attempts with Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon (40); Roman Josi is tied for fifth (34).
QUICK HITS
− The Predators went 16-10-2 (34 points) in their final 28 games of the 2022-23 regular season. Their 34 points in that time span were the ninth-most in the NHL and helped the team come as close as one point behind Winnipeg for the final Western Conference playoff spot.
− The Predators scored the first goal of the game 46 times in 2022-23, tied for the fifth-most times in the NHL.
− Nashville had 24 wins in one-goal games last season, the third-most in the NHL behind only Carolina (25) and Vegas (25).
− The Predators killed off 82.6 percent of their penalties in 2022-23, tied for the fourth-best mark in the NHL. It was the team’s best penalty kill percentage since 2011-12 (83.6).
− During the offseason, the Predators hired Pekka Rinne and Mark Borowiecki to positions within the hockey operations department. Rinne, whose No. 35 is the only retired number in franchise history, was named European Development Coach and Scout on June 26; Borowiecki, who retired as a player in May, was named Pro Development Coach on July 2.
− On the business side, the Predators announced on July 14 that Chief Operating Officer Michelle Kennedy would assume the additional titles of President and Alternate Governor. Sean Henry remains with the organization as CEO.
NEW YORK RANGERS NOTES:
LAST GAME
New York Rangers 2, Arizona Coyotes 1 – October 16, 2023 – Madison Square Garden
NYR Goals: C. Kreider (4), V. Trocheck (1)
ARI Goals: C. Keller (1)
NYR Goalie: I. Shesterkin (W – 26/27)
ARI Goalie: C. Ingram (L – 26/28)
NYR Shots: 28
ARI Shots: 27
NYR PP: 1/3
NYR PK: 4/5
RECAP/NOTES: The Rangers improved to 41-39-14-3 all-time in home openers and 3-1-1 in their last five openers at MSG, with a win against the Coyotes on Monday night. Against the Coyotes, the Rangers have now earned at least one point in 16 of its last 17 games against the Coyotes, dating back to Mar. 24, 2014 (14-1-2). At MSG, the Rangers have earned a point in 14-straight contests against Arizona dating back to the 2008-09 season (12-0-2).
RANGERS RUNDOWN
- The New York Rangers close out the two-game homestand and home slate in October with a meeting against the Nashville Predators (7:00 PM ET – TV: MSG Network – Radio: ESPN 98.7 FM).
- Tonight is Hispanic Heritage Night at MSG.
- After tonight’s contest, the Rangers won’t return home until November 2 against Carolina.
- Last season at home during the regular season, the Blueshirts went 23-13-5 and from Dec. 5, they went 19-7-1 on home ice, tied for the fifth most in that span. The Rangers went 15-6-1 in their last 22 home games.
- The Blueshirts have allowed 24.3 shots per game, the second fewest in the NHL. On the other side, their 33.7 shots per game are eighth in the league.
- New York has recorded a power play goal in its first three games of a season for the 13th time in team history and first since the 2005-06 season (9 GP).
- Through three games, the Rangers rank tied for fifth in the NHL in faceoff percentage with a 53.6 mark (94-for-167).
- Blake Wheeler has 16 goals and 17 assists for 33 points in 40 games over his career against Nashville. His 16 goals are his third most against one team in his career.
- The Rangers won 7-0 against the Predators at MSG last time they faced each other on March 19. New York scored six goals in the first period and tied the franchise mark for the most in an opening frame – a feat last accomplished on Dec. 15, 1999. K’Andre Miller became the first defenseman in Rangers history to record four points in a single period (2G-2A) with his four in the first frame.
- The Rangers had a 10-4-2 record last season against Central Division teams and 1-0-0 this year. Against the Western Conference, New York had a 21-6-5 mark in 2022-23.
LAST FIVE GAMES
DATE OPPONENT RESULT
Mon. Oct. 16 Arizona W, 2-1
Sat. Oct. 14 at Columbus L, 5-3
Thu. Oct. 12 at Buffalo W, 5-1
ALL-TIME RECORD 18-13-1-2 (39 PTS)
2023-24 0-0-0
2022-23 1-1-0
NYR HOME 8-8-1-1 (18 PTS)
NYR AWAY 10-5-0-1 (21 PTS)
LAST FIVE MEETINGS 2-3-0
LEADING SCORER(S) – CURRENT RANGERS IN CAREER G: Wheeler (16) – A: Wheeler (17) – Pts: Wheeler (33)
LEADING SCORER(S) – ALL-TIME IN GAMES W/NYR G: Kreider, Nash (6) – A: Zibanejad (9) – Pts: Zibanejad (11)
2023-24 SEASON SERIES
October 19 at MSG 7:00 PM ET
December 2 at Nashville 4:30 PM ET
