Predators at Rangers
New York Rangers general manager Glen Sather was a busy man as his team enjoyed some semblance of an off day on Sunday. Three separate trades came to fruition and the Rangers are expected to unveil their latest acquisitions when they host the league-leading Nashville Predators on Monday. The crown jewel of the deals comes in the form of offensive-minded defenseman Keith Yandle, who has reached the 50-point plateau on two occasions in his career and had 41 in 63 games with Arizona this season.
Sather isn't shy about pulling the trigger on deals near the trade deadline, as one only needs to remember last year's acquisition of Martin St. Louis from Tampa Bay for then-captain Ryan Callahan and a pair of high draft picks. As for matters on the ice, New York is looking to rebound from its first regulation loss in 11 games - a 4-2 setback at Philadelphia on Saturday. The Rangers won't get any sympathy from the Predators, who have suffered back-to-back losses in regulation by following up a 4-2 setback to Minnesota on Thursday with a 4-3 defeat against Detroit two days later.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, RSN, TVA, FSN Tennessee (Nashville), MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (41-15-7): After a blistering start to the season, Pekka Rinne has sputtered of late by yielding 16 goals en route to dropping four of his last five decisions (1-3-1). The 32-year-old Finn, however, made 30 saves in Nashville's 3-2 victory over New York on Feb. 7 and has stopped 53-of-56 shots in two meetings with the Rangers. Mike Ribeiro, who notched an assist versus the Red Wings on Saturday, scored the game-winning goal for his 700th career point in the first contest against New York.
ABOUT THE RANGERS (38-17-6): In addition to Yandle, New York also acquired fellow defenseman Chris Summers and a fourth-round pick in the 2016 draft from the Coyotes for blue-liner John Moore, promising forward Anthony Duclair, a second-round selection this year and a first-round pick in 2016. The Rangers also obtained former first-round pick James Sheppard from San Jose for a fourth-rounder in 2016 and secured the services of minor-league forward Carl Klingberg from Winnipeg for veteran Lee Stempniak. The 26-year-old Sheppard collected five goals and 11 assists in 57 games with the Sharks this season while the 24-year-old Klingberg has scored 15 goals and set up as many in 51 contests with St. John's of the American Hockey League.
OVERTIME
1. New York LW Rick Nash has been held off the scoresheet in three straight contests after erupting for four goals and five assists in his previous six games.
2. Nashville Cs Matt Cullen and Mike Fisher both are riding three-game point streaks, with the former scoring one goal and setting up four others and the latter recording two tallies and two assists.
3. New York's Cam Talbot, who made 20 saves in the first meeting, has started 12 of the last 13 contests in place of injured G Henrik Lundqvist.