Wagon Line helps Predators win

NEW YORK - The self-proclaimed "Wagon Line," composed of forwards not known for their scoring prowess, accounted for seven points in the Nashville Predators' 4-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

The Predators' fourth line, nicknamed by center Matt Hendricks, scored three goals and added four assists.

The win stopped a five-game losing streak for Nashville (14-14-3).

New York (15-16-1) dropped the first three games of a nine-game homestand, the longest in franchise history. Tuesday's loss marked the 12th time this season the Rangers scored one goal or none.

Nashville goalie Carter Hutton, making his first start in 14 games, stopped 28 shots for his fifth victory of the season.

"He managed the game really well," said Nashville coach Barry Trotz of his goaltender. "He handles the puck so well it makes it easier for the defensemen."

The "Wagon Line" of left wing Rich Clune and centers Paul Gaustad and Hendricks scored a goal apiece. Gaustad added two assists and Clune and Hendricks had one assist each.

Rick Nash scored his sixth goal of the season for the Rangers.

"He (Hendricks) has called every line he's ever been on "The Wagon Line," explained Trotz. "Everybody who plays with him is a wagon, for some reason.

"All I know is that it's easy to call out that line on the bench."

Heading into Tuesday's game that line accounted for just four goals this season.

"One thing we've always honored in Nashville is a hard work ethic," said Trotz. "Those guys represent the culture of what we've tried to do over the years.

"It's not always pretty or flashy, but sometimes you have to grind it out. That whole line has a lot of the qualities that we've always been able to find."

Goalie Henrik Lundqvist (9-13-1) stopped 22 shots for the Rangers.

The Predators scored twice in the first period and twice in the third.

Hendricks gave Nashville a 3-1 lead at 2:38 of the third. The Predators center fired in a loose puck from 10 feet in front of Lundqvist for his second goal of the season. Clune and Gaustad were credited with the assists.

Gaustad added an empty-net goal late in the game.

"Their fourth line found a way to contribute," said Rangers coach Alain Vigneault. "We got beat by a team that plays a real structured game."

New York cut the Predators' lead in half at 2-1 on a nifty goal from Nash in the second period. He skated across the front of the net, then deked out Hutton on the forehand at 6:38.

The assists went to right winger Brad Richards and center Derick Brassard.

The goal was the 600th point of Nash's career.

Clune's goal at 17:52, his first goal of the season, provided the Predators with a 2-0 lead after the first period. Hendricks made a perfect saucer pass to a streaking Clune, who went to his backhand and beat Lundqvist for his first goal since March 28 of last season, a span of 32 games.

Nashville's first-period scoring drought ended with left winger Nick Spaling's wrist shot from the slot at 13:45. The last time the Predators scored the first goal of a game was in a 4-0 win over the Blue Jackets in Columbus on Nov. 27.

The play was kept alive when center David Legwand sprawled out to feed a loose puck to right winger Patric Hornqvist, who found Spaling for his fourth goal in his past 12 games.

The Rangers are 5-8-1 at home.

"Well, there were certain areas that we talked about before the game," said Vigneault, "about trying to be better one-on-one, trying to be a tad more physical when the opportunity was there.

"I thought we started off all right, but it makes it challenging when you are down 2-0 early. With the difficulty of our offense right now, as far as scoring goals, it makes it very challenging and that's what happened tonight."

NOTES: Rangers C Ryan Callahan suffered a sprained knee in the first period and did not return. ... New York D Marc Staal missed his second game due to a concussion. ... New York recalled RW Arron Asham from AHL Hartford on Monday and sent down C J.T. Miller. Asham has accumulated 1,004 penalty minutes in 786 NHL games. ... Nashville D Shea Weber is tied for second in the league among defensemen with seven goals. Weber is the only defensemen to lead his team in goal scoring. ... Entering Tuesday's action, the Predators were tied for the league lead in face-off win percentage (54.5 percent). ... New York and Nashville entered the game each averaging 2.23 goals a game. ... Nashville D Seth Jones began the night leading all rookies in average ice time at 23:34. However, he played just 9:29 on Tuesday.