NASHVILLE, Tenn. _ Playing their second straight game without Mika Zibanejad, the young Rangers put together another strong performance against one of the NHL's elite, jumping out to a two-goal lead and holding off the Nashville Predators, 2-1, in a Saturday matinee at Bridgestone Arena.
Filip Chytil, called up from AHL Hartford on Monday, scored his second goal in as many games, giving the Rangers (5-5-1) a 1-0 lead late in the first period, and red-hot Ryan Strome, filling in as the No. 1 center in Zibanejad's absence, made it 2-0 with his fourth goal of the season at 4:16 of the second. With the goal _ a backdoor tap-in of a diagonal feed from Artemi Panarin _ Strome extended his point-scoring streak to six games, a career high. He has four goals and five assists in the streak.
Victor Arvidsson's power-play goal at 14:34 of the second period got the Predators (8-4-2) in it, but the Rangers were able to clamp down the rest of the way, and goaltender Alexandar Georgiev stopped 32 shots to keep Nashville at bay and secure the Rangers' second consecutive victory.
