Saros makes 25 saves, Predators shut out Rangers

Wilsby pushed it to 2-0 at 11:59 of the third period. He got around Rangers forward Reilly Smith at the blue line, skated down the slot and beat Shesterkin with a wrist shot through traffic.

“Amazing first goal by Wilsby there,” Predators defenseman Luke Schenn said. “I don’t even know how you could dream of having a better goal than that. That was pretty special, and pretty elite skating on the blue line there. He danced and chose the corner.”

It was the first time the Rangers have been shut out this season.

“We have to find ways to score goals,” New York forward Chris Kreider said. “They did a good job on the (penalty) kill. We got a few looks. They obviously blocked a lot and got into lanes, but we knew it was going in, so we had to make more bad angles. Things, that’s just thrown in the mud and jumping on the loose stuff. There were moments of that and we did a better job of playing up north, playing fast and establishing some zone time.”

Rangers defenseman Urho Vaakanainen made his team debut after being acquired in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks for former captain Jacob Trouba on December 8, while forward Artemi Panarin missed his second straight game with an upper-body injury.

NOTES: Rangers forward Kaapo Kakko returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch in a 3-2 loss to St. Louis Blues Sunday. Kakko finished with three shots on goal in 10:14 of ice time. … Predators defenseman Roman Josi missed his third straight game with a lower-body injury.