Nov 10, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Nashville Predators right wing Matthew Wood (71) celebrates his goal against the New York Rangers with center Jonathan Marchessault (81) and defenseman Brady Skjei (76) and center Steven Stamkos (91) and left wing Michael Bunting (58) during the first period at Madison Square Garden. Brad Penner-Imagn Images
The Nashville Predators were hoping the long flight to Sweden following Monday's game in New York against the Rangers would be a victorious one.
The Rangers' offense, which had struggled most of the season, found new life against the Preds, who dropped their fifth straight in a 6-3 defeat at Madison Square Garden.
“It’s a little disappointing,” Preds head coach Andrew Brunette told reporters. “I thought the start of the second period kind of dictated the rest of the game. I thought we had a pretty good first…a couple little mistakes on the second goal. I liked the start of that first shift, and then [we] did a strange thing that we shouldn't be doing, and then took a penalty, and then started chasing the game a little bit."
Mika Zibanejad, Vladislav Gavrikov, Alex Lafreniere, Artemi Panarin (2) and Will Cuylle had goals for the Rangers.
Matthew Wood provided the only offense for Nashville, getting his first career hat trick. He also leads the team with four power-play points after his first goal of the night came on the man advantage.
Juuse Saros stopped seven of 12 shots before giving way to Justus Annunen to start the third period. Annunen saved five of the six shots he faced. Igor Shesterkin stopped 26 of 29 shots in net for the Rangers.
After Wood's first goal tied the game 1-1 at 16:16 of the opening period, the Rangers scored four unanswered goals before Wood lit the lamp a second time. Panarin's second goal of the night pushed the lead to 6-2 before Wood's hat trick finished off the night with a 6-3 final.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
Juuse Saros can’t do it alone
There’s little debate that Juuse Saros is an above-average goaltender. He is tied for the second-most starts (13) in the NHL this season and has faced the second-most shots against (386). He’s also tied for the most saves in the NHL this season (348).
He’s not perfect, by any means. Lafreniere’s power-play goal that made it 3-1 went just under Saros’s pad. He got over a little late on Panarin’s goal that increased the lead to 4-1, but he also had too much traffic in front of the net and was tied up with Vincent Trochek and Nick Blankenburg on the play.
The Preds’ defense giving up breakaways like the one that allowed Zibanejad to score the Blueshirts’ first goal and a mental lapse by Adam Wilsby making a line change at the wrong time on another once again plagued the Predators.
Saros was pulled in favor of Annunen at the start of the third period, after the Rangers scored three goals for a 5-1 lead after 40 minutes. With little support from both his defense and offense, it was probably the best thing for him.
Matthew Wood tried to light a fire.
Nashville's offense looks lost.
Correction: Nashville's offense looks lost, except for Matthew Wood.
The 20-year-old rookie continues to do his best to carry the team on his back. His hat trick was the lone bright spot and were the only three goals the Preds could manage.
“I think [I’m just trying] to build confidence and go out there and give my best effort every night and try to have fun,” Wood said. “It's the NHL, so this is every kid's dream. Just try to not take any day for granted."
Slow starts by the Preds are nothing new; they came into Monday 0-3-1 when trailing after the first period. They've had uninspiring games in stretches, but haven't had a real blowout. Monday definitely felt like one.
Matthew Wood was the exception. Like Saros, however, he can't be the only one counted on to win games.
The second period was particularly ugly; there were only eight shots taken between the two teams in the frame, with four apiece.
Wood's last name is often referred to when starting a fire; if only he could do that to an anemic Preds offense.
The Preds couldn’t take advantage of a struggling opponent.
The Rangers have stumbled out of the gate under new head coach Mike Sullivan. While they boast the best road record in the NHL (7-1-1), they came into Monday without a win at home (0-6-1). They’ve also been shut out five times at Madison Square Garden, including a 5-0 loss to their biggest rival, the New York Islanders.
The Rangers’ offense was 31st in the NHL prior to the game, just behind the Preds, who were 30th. They were averaging 2.19 goals for compared to Nashville’s 2.53.
Not exactly juggernaut numbers by either team. Somebody was due, and the Rangers were the ones who took advantage of the Preds' struggles.
A victory against the Rangers wouldn't have guaranteed a sudden turnaround, but it could have been a spark.
“It was frustrating, for sure,” Preds defenseman Brady Skjei said. “I think we just didn't come out right away and get to our game. We got there, but it was too late."
Now, the Preds are off to Stockholm, Sweden, for the 2025 NHL Global Series against the Pittsburgh Penguins for two games Friday and Sunday. The Penguins have dropped three of their last four games. It'll be a long flight, and a long weekend if the Preds can't come away with at least a split.
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