The New York Rangers had a successful weekend with back-to-back blowout victories at Madison Square Garden, beating the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night and routing the Nashville Predators 6-0 on Sunday. K’Andre Miller had an outstanding performance, becoming the first defenseman in Rangers history to score four points in a single period, with two goals and two assists. Filip Chytil broke an 18-game drought by scoring his 20th goal of the season. The Rangers’ head coach, Gerard Gallant, acknowledged the challenge of leading his team through a game with such a significant lead. The Predators played without their star defenseman and captain, Roman Josi, who was injured in their game against Winnipeg the night before. The Rangers’ final game of the homestand against the Carolina Hurricanes will be the first of two consecutive games against them.
The Rangers dominate Predators with 6 goals in the first period
The New York Rangers had a successful weekend with back-to-back blowout victories at Madison Square Garden, beating the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night and routing the Nashville Predators 7-0 on Sunday. The Rangers scored 13 goals in total and recorded two shutouts.
In their game against the Predators, the Rangers tied a franchise record by scoring six goals in the first period, last accomplished in December 1999 against the Los Angeles Kings. K’Andre Miller had an outstanding performance, becoming the first defenseman in Rangers history to score four points in a single period, with two goals and two assists. Filip Chytil, Mika Zibanejad, Tyler Motte, Artemi Panarin, and Chris Kreider also contributed to the Rangers’ victory with a goal each.
Backup goaltender Jaroslav Halak made 22 saves to earn his first shutout as a Ranger, and the 53rd of his career. This shutout was also Halak’s first in two seasons, the last coming on March 11, 2021, while playing for the Boston Bruins – against the Rangers.
The Rangers’ head coach, Gerard Gallant, had the challenge of leading his team through two games in which they had a significant lead early. Against the Penguins, the Rangers had a 2-0 lead after the first period and scored four more times in the second period to be up 6-0 going into the third.
K’Andre Miller, who was instrumental in the Rangers’ victory, said, “it’s fun. It was a fun first period and a fun game.” He also acknowledged his achievement, “Pretty cool,” Miller said of his accomplishment. “Quite literally, it felt like everything I touched somehow found the back of the net at the end of the play, so, I wish every game was like that.”
Jaroslav Halak, who was pleased with his performance, said, “it’s more special when you get a shutout. And finally, my son, he got to see me tonight, get a shutout.” Halak’s son, Nathan, who is also a goalie, had never seen his father get a shutout.
The Rangers have won four straight games and six of their last seven, improving their season record to 41-19-10.
Rangers dominate the Predators, winning 6-0
The New York Rangers defeated the Nashville Predators 6-0 in a blowout victory on Saturday. This win follows another successful game for the Rangers, who beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 7-0 the night before. The Rangers have won five of their last six games and will play their final game of a five-game homestand against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.
The Predators played without their star defenseman and captain, Roman Josi, who was injured in their game against Winnipeg the night before. Kevin Lankinen, the Predators’ goalie, made only one save and allowed four goals before being replaced.
Filip Chytil started the scoring for the Rangers, followed by Mika Zibanejad, Tyler Motte, K’Andre Miller, Artemi Panarin, and Chris Kreider. For Chytil, the goal was his 20th of the season and broke an 18-game drought. Zibanejad’s goal was his fifth in the last four games and 37th of the season.
K’Andre Miller had an impressive game, scoring his first two NHL goals and earning two assists. He became the first Rangers defenseman to score four points in one period. Chris Kreider also had a notable game, scoring his 32nd goal of the season and moving one goal behind Vic Hadfield for fifth place in franchise history.
Head coach Gerard Gallant acknowledged the challenge of leading his team through a game with such a significant lead. “You just want to make sure that guys keep playing well, and … 6-0, obviously, you want to keep doing the right things, and you don’t want to embarrass people. So I thought our guys did an excellent job. They worked hard. They played the game the right way. And I was proud of those guys. Honestly.”
The Rangers’ final game of the homestand against the Carolina Hurricanes will be the first of two consecutive games against them.
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