Rangers end skid with 4-2 win over Predators

Difficult to gauge just how big a win the New York Rangers posted on Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.

Riding a five-game (0-3-2) losing streak, the Rangers broke through with a complete game to defeat the Nashville Predators, 4-2.

Kevin Hayes provided the game-winning goal when he broke in on the right win and sped past the Preds’ defenseman for a speed-driven goal and a 3-1 New York lead.

Henrik Lundqvist made 23 saves to pick up just his second win of the year.

“It was a good feeling to finally get a win here,” Lundqvist said.

Jimmy Vesey sealed it with an empty-netter from down near 28th Street.

“This was coming,” Lundqvist said. “We had a couple games now where we’ve been close. It was just a matter of time. Finally, we get the two points. We’ll take a deep breath and we’ll go after another two points Monday [against the San Jose Sharks].”

Jesper Fast and Chris Kreider staked the Rangers to a 2-0 lead before the Preds found their offense.

“It’s big,” Hayes said. “Hopefully, it’s a springboard into a lot of other things.”

Mattias Ekholm and Filip Forsberg scored for Nashville as they closed to within 3-2 before the empty-netter.

“We created enough chances to win this game by a couple goals,” Forsberg said. “You’ve got to give credit to Lundqvist, but at the same time we had chances that we’ve got to bury.”

The Rangers had just 115 shots on goal for the entire game including six over the final 40 minutes.

“We didn’t feel as tense as it seems. We feel good about our game. In the last two or three games, I think we’ve done a lot of good things. We hadn’t come out on the right side but it’s not as tense as it may seem on the outside. We feel good about our game. We’re happy with finally getting a win here.” the Rangers’ J.T. Miller

[WATCH: All Predators vs. Rangers highlights]

Juuse Saros made 11 saves in taking the loss.

“We didn’t get much, but we had some guys who made some good plays and it was the difference,” Lundqvist said. “It was that one extra play that made the difference.”