New York @ Nashville preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 29, 2018 ) NY Rangers 4, Nashville 3

The Nashville Predators were coasting toward a fifth straight victory before a stunning collapse against Calgary on Thursday, allowing more goals in the third period than they had during a four-game winning streak. The Predators attempt to regroup from the last-second overtime defeat when they conclude a three-game homestand against the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon.

Nashville had outscored the opposition 16-3 in its previous four games and carried a three-goal cushion into the final 20 minutes before surrendering four tallies to force the extra session. "It's a game that we put ourselves in a great position to win," defenseman Ryan Ellis said. "The last three or four games that we've really started to play the brand of hockey we wanted, and tonight was a step back, but we'll address the issues and move on." The wildly inconsistent Rangers answered a five-game slide (0-4-1) by winning two of three, posting lopsided victories over Buffalo and reigning Presidents' Trophy winner Tampa Bay. "We were certainly more engaged. We embraced the battle," coach David Quinn said after his team scored three times in the third period of the 4-1 win over the Lightning to rebound from a humbling loss to Boston. "And once that happens, you start rolling, you get a chance."

TV: 2 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), FS Tennessee (Nashville)

ABOUT THE RANGERS (4-5-1): New York's youth movement is in full force with seven players ages 21 or younger in the lineup for the first time since December 1976. Three of them came up big as defenseman Adam Fox and forward Filip Chytil, making his NHL debut, scored their first career goals while 18-year-old blue-liner Kaapo Kakko, the No. 2 overall pick in this year's draft, registered his second career tally. "Your first goal is special, but the game was pretty intense and that's a big win for us," Fox said. "So yeah, I think I'll definitely remember that one."

ABOUT THE PREDATORS (8-3-2): Nashville signed Austin Watson to a three-year, $4.5 million contract Thursday and he rewarded the team's faith in him by scoring twice and setting up two goals in the first career four-point game. "At points last year I wasn't really quite sure of where my career was going or if it was going to continue," said Watson, who served an 18-game suspension and enrolled in the league's alcohol and substance abuse program last season. Forward Filip Forsberg was held off the scoresheet after missing six games due to a lower-body injury.

OVERTIME

1. Predators G Pekka Rinne, who has a franchise-record nine-game point streak to open the season, is 4-3-1 with a 2.50 goals-against average versus New York.

2. Rangers C Mika Zibanejad (upper body), the team leader with 11 points, will miss his second straight game.

3. Predators C Nick Bonino has scored four of his team-high seven goals in the past two games.

PREDICTION: Predators 3, Rangers 2