The New York Rangers are set to play the Nashville Predators in their second meeting of the season as part of a back-to-back weekend series. The game will take place in Nashville, with coverage available on MSG 2 and ESPN 1050 AM.
Recently, the Rangers have been performing well, earning points in 10 of their last 14 games with an 8-4-2 record. They have also won four out of their last five road games. The team is currently tied for the league lead in road wins at 13 and ranks second in road points with 27. Their nine regulation wins away from home are among the top three across all NHL teams.
Statistically, the Rangers’ faceoff win percentage stands out both on the road (55.8%) and overall (54.0%), ranking third in the NHL for both categories. Defensively, they have allowed just 2.26 goals per game on the road—the lowest mark in the league—and their overall average of 2.70 goals against per game is seventh best.
The team has conceded only 27 goals during second periods this season, which is among the fewest allowed by any NHL club. On offense, New York’s plus-17 goal differential on the road ranks fourth best, and their total of 60 goals scored away from home is tied for seventh most.
At even strength (5-on-5), they have allowed only 58 goals—again placing them among league leaders defensively. As visiting players, they have led games for over seven and a half hours this season (456:42), which is third highest among all teams.
Goaltending has also contributed to success; Rangers goalies hold a combined .904 save percentage (sixth highest) and a team goals against average of 2.66 (seventh lowest). Contributions from defensemen include 17 goals scored so far this year, while rookies have provided 14 assists—both figures ranking tenth league-wide.
When scoring first, New York holds a strong record at 14-2-0 and has achieved seven overtime or shootout victories—fourth most among all teams this season. Physically, they lead the NHL in hits with a total of 974 and rank ninth in blocked shots at 544; they’ve logged more than thirty hits in eleven separate games so far.
There are several connections between these two clubs: Jed Ortmeyer, now Director of Player Development for New York, played two seasons with Nashville; meanwhile Predators defenseman Brady Skjei was drafted by New York and spent parts of five seasons there before joining Nashville.
This season’s “Bread Winner,” Artemi Panarin leads his team with thirteen goals and thirty-six points while also tying for most assists at twenty-three. He recently recorded his nine-hundredth career point—a milestone reached by only six undrafted players since 1963–64 within eight hundred games or fewer—and continues to climb franchise leaderboards for both single-season performance and multi-point outings.
Mika Zibanejad currently leads New York in power play goals (seven) while sharing leadership in total goals scored (eleven). His career totals place him fifth among Swedish-born players for power play tallies and he sits one goal shy of tying New York’s franchise record for such scores.
Vincent Trocheck has returned strongly after injury by contributing sixteen points since November tenth; his faceoff proficiency places him fifth among regular takers since last season began.
J.T. Miller leads all Rangers skaters this year with nearly three hundred faceoff wins while ranking highly across other statistical categories including hits and overall scoring production; he recently marked his nine-hundredth career game milestone earlier this month.
Will Cuylle leads not only his team but ranks third league-wide with one hundred twenty-seven hits this year—a number that helped break previous franchise records last season—and remains undefeated when scoring himself during games played thus far.
Goaltender Igor Shesterkin has delivered consistent performances helping secure points through recent matches while maintaining one of the lowest averages for goals allowed on both home ice and particularly as a starter on opposing rinks since early December.
The next home contest will see New York host Utah Mammoth on January fifth at Madison Square Garden.
