The Rangers suffered a disappointing 4-1 loss to the Predators on Thursday night at MSG. They were thoroughly outclassed by a defensive minded opponent who took time and space away throughout the game.

Instead of building on a good home opener in which they defeated the Coyotes on Monday (Oct. 16), the Rangers couldn’t muster much against the Predators. They had some costly turnovers and mistakes in coverage that led to goals against.

Even Igor Shesterkin couldn’t bail them out. His fourth straight start ended with a mercy pull by coach Peter Laviolette after Predators forward Filip Forsberg beat him with a slap shot on the power play. He allowed four goals on 19 shots in 33:51 before Jonathan Quick replaced him with 6:09 remaining in the second period.

Costly Mistakes Hurt Rangers

For at least the first part of the opening period, the Rangers and Predators were scoreless. However, costly mistakes were the Rangers’ undoing. Unable to get out of their own way, they put themselves in an early hole.

On the Predators’ first goal, Tyson Barrie tipped a reverse pass up top for a Michael McCarron shot that Shesterkin left a rebound on. With Braden Schneider covering one man in front, defense partner Erik Gustafsson was too late to pick up Cole Smith. He was able to put in the rebound for his first goal of the game.

Coincidentally, the Rangers had a power play opportunity with Smith off for interference with Adam Fox. Instead of tying the score or even gaining some momentum from it, a self-inflicted wound allowed Smith to come out of the penalty box and score an unassisted breakaway goal to put the Predators ahead 2-0.

K’Andre Miller tried a low percentage saucer pass for Gustafsson at the point with the power play close to expiring. Unable to handle the hard pass, Gustafsson could only watch as Smith came in and beat Shesterkin for his second goal in 4:58.

Making matters worse, the backbreaking goal came with less than four minutes left in a lackluster period that saw the Rangers held to a paltry five shots-on-goal. The Predators squeezed the life out of them. A theme that continued the rest of the night.

The mistakes continued during the second period. With Fox off for his second hooking minor of the game, Predators center Ryan O’Reilly won a key offensive draw from Vincent Trocheck. He then was left wide open in the slot by Trocheck for a one-timer past Shesterkin for a power play goal. That put the Predators ahead by three.

Trailing by three, the Rangers didn’t make it any easier on Shesterkin. Another unforced error allowed Jusso Parssinen to come in on a breakaway. But Shesterkin was patient enough to shut down Parssinen’s backhand attempt to keep the Rangers within three.

Despite the clutch Shesterkin save, the Blueshirts kept shooting themselves in the foot. Artemi Panarin was sent off for high-sticking. He could only watch as Filip Forsberg was given too much space by the penalty kill. Eventually, he loaded up from the right circle and fired a laser by Shesterkin to end his night. It was the second power play goal allowed by the Rangers.

Predators Penalties Give the Rangers Life

With not much happening, the Rangers got some help from the Predators late in the second period. After Gustafsson was tripped up by Parssinen to put them on a power play, O’Reilly took down Trocheck to give the Rangers a five-on-three with 75 seconds left.

Following Mika Zibanejad missing the net on a one-timer and Trocheck missing an empty net, Fox had his centering pass for Chris Kreider bank off of Ryan McDonagh for a power play goal that cut the deficit to 4-1 with 42 seconds left in the period. On the remainder of the five-on-four, the Rangers couldn’t get any closer.

Unlucky Breaks Prove It’s not The Rangers’ Night

In the third period, the Rangers came close to making it interesting. On another power play drawn by Zibanejad, Panarin had a wrist shot hit the crossbar. Nashville goalie Juuse Saros then stopped Zibanejad. At least Panarin thought shot. He was one of the only bright spots in the defeat. He was credited with four shots and 10 attempts. Unfortunately, that included the crossbar.

With 8:05 remaining, the Rangers thought they had their second goal of the game. However, the zone entry by Panarin clearly showed that Will Cuylle couldn’t stay onside. Had he been able to hold the line, Trocheck would’ve had a goal where the puck bounced off him after a Saros poke check. Predators coach Andrew Brunette successfully challenged for offside.

There have only been four games played. So far, the Rangers have had four goals overturned on coach’s challenges. They’ve been unlucky in that department. However, all four reversals were the correct call. Hopefully, that changes in the Rangers’ favor when they embark on a tough Western road swing with stops at Seattle, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver. They then will conclude the five-game road trip at Winnipeg.

Perhaps getting away can help them. They’re still figuring things out. Some team bonding could allow the players to get closer together. Playing away from New York City is one less distraction. After earning a hard fought one-goal victory over Arizona, they heard jeers in just their second home game. The fans can grow a bit impatient.

With the first game of the trip on Saturday night in Seattle, it’ll allow the Rangers to refocus. They know they weren’t good enough last night. Jacob Trouba emphasized why they didn’t deserve to win.

There won’t be any disagreement with what Trouba said. The Rangers were a step slow and ineffective. There were too many passengers. They got what they deserved.

It falls on the players to play with more consistency. Rangers coach Peter Laviolette will be looking for a much better effort starting on Saturday night.

“It’s frustrating and disappointing. Our speed was off. We’re talking about playing faster. And I thought we got away from ourselves with puck decisions,” Laviolette told reporters.

More will be expected the rest of the season. The Rangers can start by giving a better effort when they take on the Kraken. It’ll be important for them to set the tone. We’ll see how they respond.