Blueshirts Open Two-Game Road Trip in Nashville

Rangers (25-21-5, 55 pts) at Predators (30-12-7, 67 pts)

8 pm, Bridgestone Arena, Nashville

MSG Network; ESPN 98.7 FM

New York took the first meeting between them and Nashville earlier this season at Madison Square Garden. Kevin Hayes scored the game-winning goal in the 4-2 Rangers win back on Oct. 21, while Jimmy Vesey had two points in the victory.
Nashville enters the game in second in the highly competitive Central Division, just two points behind the Winnipeg Jets with three games in hand.
The Predators are 7-1-1 in their last nine games and have three shutouts during that stretch, including a dominant 5-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings Thursday night.
All-Star P.K. Subban leads the club with 38 points in 49 games, followed by Filip Forsberg's 36, including 16 tallies in just 38 games. Kyle Turris, who Nashville acquired earlier in the season from Ottawa, has 21 points in 34 contests.
Goaltender Pekka Rinne is having a strong season with 25 wins in 36 games including a .928 SV% and five shutouts.

Players to Watch

There were few positives from Thursday's loss but one was Rick Nash, who drove the night on several occasions and finished with four shots on goal in 17:59. Nash has a goal or point in six of his last eight games against Nashville and has 42 points in 60 career games against the Predators.
Forsberg returned to action on Thursday after missing all of January with an injury and immediately made his impact felt with a goal and an assist in just 14:49 against the Kings.

Say What?

"I expect everyone to be ready to go. [Thursday] night was not a good night for any of us. It's time to show some character and I'm pretty sure everyone is going to be ready to go." - Mats Zuccarello

Rangers Projected Lineup

Jimmy Vesey - Mika Zibanejad - Rick Nash
Michael Grabner - Kevin Hayes - Mats Zuccarello
J.T. Miller - Peter Holland - Jesper Fast
Cody McLeod - David Desharnais - Paul Carey
Ryan McDonagh - Nick Holden
Brady Skjei - Marc Staal
Brendan Smith - Tony DeAngelo

Inside the Numbers

The Rangers have won eight of their last 11 games against Nashville, including five of their last six games. They have three shutouts in their last 10 games against the Predators.