Rick Nash Shines As Rangers Struggle
Allons-y!
When the New York Rangers acquired Blue Jackets franchise player Rick Nash, it was a match made in heaven. The Rangers get a bona-fide superstar, and Nash goes to a team that actually knows how to stay out of the league basement. After two games the Rags got their star, but things have to feel like much of the same for Nash.
Nash has played like a man possessed, finishing his checks, scoring a nice goal against Pittsburgh, and just being a presence every time he is on the ice. Despite his efforts, the Rangers currently sit at the bottom of the NHL standings.
While the Rangers plight is sure to change, fans hope that what they are seeing from Nash doesn’t.
The Rangers will be a power house and sure to be in the Stanley Cup conversation late in this lockout shortened season and any hockey fan has to be intrigued about what magic Nash, Marian Gaborik, and Brad Richards can produce while wearing the same jersey.
Gaborik finished last season with 41 goals finishing only behind Steven Stamkos and Evgeni Malkin in the goal scoring race while Brad Richards finished with a respectable 66 points (25 G 41 A). Add Nash’s 30 goals to the mix and you have one of the most potent offenses in the NHL.
Nash will have more opportunity to score with more talented line mates and he should easily improve on his plus / minus rating of -19 from last year, but the most important thing for the star forward is that the fate of the team is not dependent on him. Gaborik and Richard can share the offensive load, and with guys like Marc Staal and King Henrik behind him he can take more chances.
The Rangers have come out of the gate very flat, but who really expected some teams not to have issues, coming out of the lockout, no real training camp, and no pre season. This is a recipe for slow starts, but anyone who knows hockey knows that the Rangers will recover and will go deep into the playoffs, happily for both sides Rick Nash will be at the center of it all.
Until next time….
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| Player | Team | Pos | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PP | SH | GW | OT | S | S% | |
| 1 | Brad Richards | NYR | C | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 16.7 |
| 2 | Rick Nash | NYR | L | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14.3 |
| 3 | Derek Stepan | NYR | C | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | Ryan Callahan | NYR | R | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 25 |
| 5 | Taylor Pyatt | NYR | L | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 25 |
| 6 | Dan Girardi | NYR | D | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 7 | Michael Del Zotto | NYR | D | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 8 | Ryan McDonagh | NYR | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 9 | Marc Staal | NYR | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Carl Hagelin | NYR | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 11 | Marian Gaborik | NYR | R | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 12 | Brian Boyle | NYR | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | Anton Stralman | NYR | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Jeff Halpern | NYR | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 15 | Chris Kreider | NYR | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | Stu Bickel | NYR | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Mike Rupp | NYR | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | Arron Asham | NYR | R | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Brandon Segal | NYR | R | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
