NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Rangers persisted throughout a black-and-blue battle against the Predators, but didn’t do enough on the scoreboard. 

It was a miracle that every Rangers skater played until the final minute of this 2-1 loss to the Predators, who received both their goals Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena from players who were recalled from their AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, in the past couple of weeks. 

The Rangers were right on the Predators’ tails for much of the game, however, stringing together chances that just barely missed the mark to tie the score. In fact, they outshot Nashville 35-18. Julien Gauthier nearly had a tap-in goal at the post that would’ve knotted the score at 2-2 with roughly 7 ½ minutes left, but it went just wide. 

Tensions began to escalate in the second period, which the Rangers entered trailing by a goal. After Vincent Trocheck rang one off the post on the power play early on, the Predators doubled their lead to 2-1 just a few minutes later, when center Mark Jankowski buried a feed following a successful keep-in by the home team. 

Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren later dropped his gloves in pursuit of Ryan Johansen, but the referees got in the way and hit both players with unsportsmanlike penalties. Shortly after that, Jeremy Lauzon went after Lindgren and got in more than his fair share of licks, sending Lindgren to the Rangers locker room with blood dripping down his face. 

The Rangers then briefly lost Sammy Blais, who blocked a hard shot and appeared to be in immense pain before limping to the locker room. Both Blais and Lindgren returned to the Rangers’ bench before the second intermission, but it was clear the entire lineup was feeling the effects from the Predators’ physical play. 

Just when it appeared the game had settled down, Mika Zibanejad blasted a shot that nailed Jimmy Vesey right in the face behind the Predators’ net. Vesey had a harsh mark on his face and had to be tended to by Rangers trainer Jim Ramsey, but the forward remained on the bench and didn’t miss a shift. 

The Rangers are in a precarious position when it comes to injuries and their depth. They are already carrying 23 players when it would be in their best interest to cut it to 22 in order to accrue as much cap space as possible in anticipation of the trade deadline. But injuries just keep popping up, so the Rangers really don’t have a choice. 

Since Vitali Kravtsov was unavailable Saturday night due to what the team said was a stomach bug, Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant bumped Gauthier up to the right wing on the second line, next to Artemi Panarin and Trocheck. Gauthier had earned a look in the top six, but it also made the most sense if the Rangers wanted to keep a majority of their lineup intact after a strong offensive showing against the Red Wings on Thursday. 

Ryan Reaves drew back into the lineup, slotting into his usual right-wing spot on the fourth line. The bruising veteran did what he does best in a game in which the Rangers needed it most. In a heavyweight tilt with Tanner Jeannot, Reaves took the Predators wing down in convincing fashion. 

The Rangers may have limited the Predators to just four shots on goal in the first period, but the visitors — despite two power-play opportunities — were chasing the game after the opening 20 minutes and for the rest of the night. 

Defenseman K’Andre Miller was caught out of position while playing aggressively in the offensive zone, leaving Alexis Lafreniere to try and cover on defense. Skating in his first NHL game, Predators rookie Juuso Parssinen was able beat Lafreniere with a strong move to the net before chipping it past Jaroslav Halak for the 1-0 lead and his first career goal less than five minutes into the game.