NEW YORK -- The Nashville Predators snapped out of their funk with a solid win at Madison Square Garden. Willie Young . The host New York Rangers might ask the visitors how they did it before they head back to Tennessee. Nick Spaling and Rich Clune scored first-period goals, and seldom-used backup Carter Hutton made 28 saves as the Predators broke a five-game losing streak by beating the skidding Rangers 4-1 on Tuesday night. New York geared up for a team-record, nine-game homestand, but three games into it the Rangers have only an overtime loss on the positive side of the ledger (0-2-1). And now they will have to go the next four to six weeks without captain Ryan Callahan, who sprained his left knee in the first period. Callahan is second on the club with seven goals. "Everyone has to step up a little more," defenceman Dan Girardi said. "He brings a lot to the team, a lot of different characteristics." The Rangers were already playing without top defenceman Marc Staal, who sustained a concussion two games earlier. Hutton (5-3-1) made his first start since Nov. 10 and his third appearance in that span as the Predators try to get by while No. 1 goalie Pekka Rinne (hip) is out. Marek Mazanec went 0-4-1 in the previous five games. "I played a couple periods," Hutton said. "We practice pretty hard, we train pretty hard. This was kind of something I was ready to do." Matt Hendricks made it 3-1 just 2:38 into the third, knocking in a loose puck from in front, with Clune earning an assist. Paul Gaustad scored an empty-net goal with 1:06 left and added two assists. "I think everyone is going to sleep a little easier tonight," Clune said. "We stopped the bleeding, but we have to move forward, ride the high on the plane, but refocus fast." Rick Nash cut New Yorks deficit in half in the second period and Henrik Lundqvist stopped 22 shots. The Rangers have dropped four straight at home (0-3-1). "The only thing I know right now is it can only go up," Lundqvist said. "Its extremely tough mentally, and you try to be positive. You have to." Despite a team meeting after their 4-1 loss to Washington on Sunday, several lineup changes -- and a call-up from the AHL -- the Rangers came out flat and fell into a 2-0 hole in the first period. New York (15-16-1) added veteran forward Arron Asham to the lineup, but the Rangers still cant find consistency to their game. "There were certain areas we talked about before the game," coach Alain Vigneault said. "I thought we started off all right, but it makes it real challenging when you are down 2-0 early." Nashville was hardly impressive or overly aggressive, but the Predators made the most of their chances and scored twice on only six shots. Spaling made it 1-0 with 6:15 left, right after the Rangers briefly avoided falling behind on another scoring chance in front. Spaling delivered a hard hit on defenceman Ryan McDonagh and then was free in front to score his fifth of the season before McDonagh could get back in the play. Another breakdown produced the Predators second goal 4:07 later. Hendricks raced the puck up right wing and flipped a perfect pass over the stick of Rangers forward Dominic Moore and onto Clunes blade. Clune, who had no points and 69 penalty minutes in 17 games this season, deftly shifted the puck from forehand to backhand and slid it past Lundqvist. When the period ended, the Rangers were serenaded with boos as they trudged off to the dressing room. "This crowd is a demanding crowd. You can hear the crowd getting on them, letting them know what they thought," Clune said. New York enjoyed a better second period. Even though the Rangers were outshot 12-6, they scored the only goal. Nash finished a crisp three-way passing play that started with Derick Brassard moving the puck to his left to Brad Richards, who quickly found Nash down low. Nash cut right to left across the crease and tucked in his sixth goal of the season at 6:38. Brassard nearly tied it with 1:49 remaining in the second, but his hard drive struck a post behind Hutton. "It was not the start we were looking for," Lundqvist said. "Still, after two periods, it is just a one-goal game. We tried to fight back in the second and in the third. "That third goal killed us." NOTES: Nash earned his 600th NHL point. ... Vigneault confirmed Staals concussion, but said it doesnt appear to be as severe as his previous one a few years ago. ... Clune entered with four goals, 11 points and 208 penalty minutes in 78 NHL games. It was his second multipoint game. ... Earlier this season, Hutton became the seventh goalie to win a game with the Predators. Shea McClellin . 98 jersey in a game yet, and already its a big seller. Tim Jennings . Louis Cardinals to a 6-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles in the opener of a three-game interleague series at Camden Yards.(SportsNetwork.com) - Chris Kreider showed his former coach a few things last time out. The New York forward will look to build off his first career hat trick on Monday night as the Rangers welcome the Winnipeg Jets to Madison Square Garden. Coming off a 3-2 loss to Boston the previous day, the Rangers prepared for a big showdown with the John Tortorella-led Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. It marked Tortorellas first trip back to New York after being fired by the Rangers during the offseason. Tortorella was replaced as coach by Alain Vigneault, who was let go by the Canucks over the summer to create the position filled by Tortorella. Vigneault opted to shake up his lines ahead of Saturdays game and one move was putting Kreider on the top line with Rick Nash and Derek Stephan. It paid off as Kreider scored three times in the 5-2 win. The 22-year-old now has six goals and 16 points in 20 games this season after logging just two goals and one assist in three games last season under Tortorella. He credited his linemates with Saturdays success. "Those are just the kind of players they are. It doesnt matter really who you put with them, theyre so good. Ive been really lucky to have some good linemates this year," Kreider said. Nash scored and had two assists, while Stepan finished with a pair of helpers. Defenseman Michael Del Zotto -- a healthy scratch in the previous two games and five of the last eight -- also scored in New Yorks fourth victory in six games. Backup goaltender Cam Talbot made a career-high 35 ssaves, moving to 6-1-0 on the season. Brian Urlacher. . He has not allowed more than two goals in any of his seven starts, the first of his NHL career, while giving some rest to No. 1 Henrik Lundqvist. The Jets visit New York looking to get their struggling power play on track. They went 0-for-6 in Fridays 2-1 setback to the Philadelphia Flyers and rank 28th in the league on the man advantage at 11.5 percent. Winnipeg also allowed its NHL high-tying fifth short-handed goal in Fridays defeat. "Our power play was disappointing. We cant get anything out of it and havent been able to through the years. Its not like its anything new for us. Finding solutions to that issue and problem is certainly a challenge for us," said Winnipeg coach Claude Noel. Michael Frolik had a third-period goal and Ondrej Pavelec made 32 saves for the Jets, who had won the first two of a six-game road trip and fell to 2-3-2 in their past seven games overall. Winnipeg lost forward Evander Kane to a lower-body injury in the first period and he did not skate in Saturdays outdoor practice in Central Park. He is tied for second on the club with seven goals, but has not been ruled out for this game. The Jets have lost five of their last seven meetings with the Rangers, including three of the four games played in New York since the Winnipeg franchise relocated from Atlanta. Lundqvist is 10-7-6 with a 2.19 goals against average in his career versus the franchise, while Pavelec has gone 4-4-1 with a 2.34 GAA lifetime against the Rangers. ' ' '
