NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Rangers’ first meeting with the Predators, a brutal loss Oct. 19 in New York, ultimately became a turning point in the season.
And Saturday’s 4-3 win in the matinee rematch on the Preds’ turf proved just how far they’ve come.
Charging back from the same two-goal deficit they faced in the first game against Nashville, the Blueshirts bent but didn’t break this time around as they pieced together strong second and third periods to complete the comeback.
“We came out slow, we came out weak,” said Vincent Trocheck, who, along with Adam Fox, led the Rangers with three points. “A little bit of a wake-up call after the first, but [head coach Peter Laviolette] came in and kind of gave us the business. Rightfully so, we were not very good to start the game.”
Laviolette is known to be capable of delivering inspiring messages when a team needs them, and the Rangers are known to be a team that needs a kick in the behind every once in a while.
There was no kicking or screaming in the locker room, Jacob Trouba assured, but there was an understanding that the game started at 3:30 CST and the Rangers weren’t ready. All there was left to do was make a change going forward, and the Rangers did.
“He left it on us to make a decision if we wanted to play tonight or not,” the Rangers captain said. “I thought the team responded well.”
The second period saw the Rangers play more to the game they’ve put forth the past few weeks after a flat-footed opening 20 minutes resulted in a 2-0 deficit.
It started with some significant mid-game line changes, which is something Laviolette hasn’t had to do much of this season. Putting Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere on the top line with Mika Zibanejad, Laviolette dropped Chris Kreider down to the second unit with Trocheck and Jonny Brodzinski.
Will Cuylle and Tyler Pitlick flanked Nick Bonino, while Blake Wheeler was bumped to the fourth unit with Barclay Goodrow and Jimmy Vesey.
The desired spark was produced when Trouba scored 31 seconds into the middle frame off a feed from behind the Predators net from Trocheck.
Nashville countered, however, with a shorthanded goal from Colton Sissons for the 3-1 lead at the 7:28 mark.
Unlike their Oct. 19 4-1 loss, The Rangers kept their heads and a couple seconds after the power play expired, Kreider batted a rebound out of the air to make it a one-goal game once again.
Juuso Parssinen then gifted the Rangers another power play 11 seconds later, when he got called for boarding against Bonino.
The top power-play unit struck quickly as Trocheck notched his third point of the game with a deflection goal, which evened the score at three-all.
A rare greasy goal from the Rangers broke the 3-3 tie just over five minutes into the third period when Trocheck battled for position in front with Jeremy Lauzon and Ryan Lindgren’s shot went off the Nashville defenseman’s skate and in.
The Rangers responded emphatically in the aftermath of their lackluster effort against the Predators earlier this season. In addition to generating an 11-game point streak, they tightened their overall game and haven’t put forth such a poor performance since.
On Saturday, the Rangers didn’t wait until the next game to respond. They did so in the moment.
“They kind of took it to us in Game 1, so we felt like we might’ve owed them something,” Trocheck said. “Going down two early, it was a little bit of a wake-up call. We showed resilience coming back.”
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